The Seven Blades Of Deltora Book 1: Dreams Beyond Clouds
by Mr. BlaK
Summary: Endon, Jarred, and Anna, children of King Lief, and Queen Jasmine, are on a quest to find the Seven Blades of Deltora, in order to defeat the Shadow Lord after he's destroyed the belt, the Pipe, and captured most of the dragons. With the help of Luke and Katrina, they journey for the Ruby Axe, in the clouds, the closest blade to find.
1. Chapter X

The Seven Blades of Deltora

Book 1

Dreams Beyond Clouds

Chapter X

The Blades of Deltora

There are items, weapons, tools, guardians, for all over Deltora. The most famous, the belt of Deltora, used half a decade ago, to relinquish the land of Deltora from the shadow lords grasp. The Pirran Pipe, a musical instrument, with such power, that it could defeat the Shadow lord in his own realm. And the guardians of the sevenplaces in Deltora, the Dragons of Deltora,the diamond dragon, Forta, the emerald dragon, Honora,the lapis lazuli dragon, Fortuna, the topaz dragon, Fidelis, the opal dragon, Hopian, the ruby dragon, Joyeu, and the amethyst dragon, Veritas. All reawakened from their hibernation, and have brought prosperity to Deltora, and helped to defeat the Shadow lord once more.

These three sets of magical creatures and items have helped save Deltora from the monstrosity known as the Shadow Lord.

But there are seven more. In the ancient times, when the gems were forged to fit on the belt the king was to wear, it is said that seven warriors from each of the seven tribes were to save the belt, should it ever be lost, and the seven blades of Deltora were created magical items with special properties from each tribe, only able to be used by a living tribe member. But in the chaos of the fall of Deltora, all but two warriors were killed.

These two warriors, of the Jalis and of Tora, attempted to band together, and go to the king in need of an army. But, they too, were killed on their journey, for of the Jalis's trait of stubborness, and the Toran unable to deal with and bypass it. As the Shadow Lord discovered the diamond, and amethyst blade, he knew he must destroy them. He first tried to destroy the two he had, but was unable to. As it seemed, unless the tribe of the blade was killed, the magic of the weapon would not let it be destroyed. So, instead, he sought those who knew of it.

The ferocity of the weapons was more powerful than the belt itself (If joined together, but how would blades join?), they were kept secret, only to two of each tribe; that of the warrior, and the leader. Since it was the leaders that held information, the shadow lord, in his power, erased the existence of them. Tricking the leaders into their deaths, accidents, and sometimes, let nature simply take its course, as he did with king Alton.

Prandine, the advisor at the time, had to simply hand the topaz blade over to the Shadow Lord. The other 4, remained lost, missing, even from the shadow lords grasp. In the 16 years that passed, the only thing that remained of hope to the people of Deltora was the belt.

The Blades were never recorded, nor remembered, never sought after.

The Belt had been restored. The Pipe was together once more. And the dragons were awake. For what reason, where the blades to even be considered?

And to top it off, the Shadow Lord was defeated.

Defeated.

Not destroyed.

The Shadow lord was preparing to make his return once more, and the Blades of Deltora may be the only things that can save them…

 **Hello There person who is reading this. Dragnov here. I'd just like to say, thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this, it really means a lot to me. This will be the first out of 8 books, this one, "The Blades of Deltora Dreams Beyond Clouds," is the first installment. I'm keeping what you just read in every book, at the beginning, along with an update of the story, like Rodda's. For the Beginning of the story, the next chapter, will be how Lief and Jasmine start their relationship. I just really wanted to do that. Okay. I might already be ahead of that next chapter, so you can skip it if you want, since it's not as significant to the storyline but I'd like you to read it anyway. I hope you enjoyed my little change up of Deltora's history. Signing off,**

 **DRAGNOV OF THE EARTH**


	2. Prologue: The Kindling of Love

Prologue

The Kindling of Love

Lief watched as Lindal and Barda smiled at the people to the sides of them that were giving a loud standing ovation as they headed away from the alter they had just been married at.

The wedding for Lindal and Barda had been planned six months ago, and Lief was enjoying the results. Lindal, who refused to be married in the inside of a "stuffy building," had convinced them that it was not going to be a chapel wedding. So it was agreed they would have an outdoor wedding, in the large garden in the palace of Del. The garden was behind the castle, big enough to build a second castle, expanded by request of Jasmine, which Lief blatantly agreed with.

The flower scented breeze ran through Lief's combed blond hair, and slightly ruffled the nice white tux the castle serv – no _helpers_ had tailored for him, with a nicely complemented black rose (obviously dyed) over his pocket, and a red tie under the jacket. Surrounding the oak chairs arranged around the red carpet on which Lindal and Barda were walking, were different assortments of trees and flowers, which made the scenery all the more lively. The sky was nearly cloudless and baby blue, with the sun brightening the area.

Jasmine sat to the left of Lief, while Sharn, his mother, sat to the right. Sharn's first wrinkles were beginning to show on her face, and her brown hair was becoming pale. She wore a bright yellow dress to complement the area, with a pin tying her hair into a bun beneath her crown, her nails painted a yellow also, brown eyes exuding extreme warmth, and a smile topping it all off.

Jasmine… Lief couldn't help but think she was… beautiful. Her black hair was tied into ponytail, which he was surprised to see, but it seemed, in her way of dressing for the occasion, she went for casual. The skirt she was wearing was long enough to reach her feet, but didn't all the way, and for a top, she wore a white blouse, decorated with a flower pattern – a shirt she asked to be made, as a favor from Lief and her face had not seemed to differ since the last five years they'd known one another, and she did not appear to be wearing makeup, but he could not help finding Jasmine more attractive every time he saw her.

Her green eyes glinted and turned to Lief. Only then did he realize he had been staring at her. "What is it Lief?"

Lief sat straight up, and felt his face burn. "It – it is nothing. I was just wondering why you've chosen to wear those clothes to the wedding."

Her soft gaze sharpened. "What, you do not like my choice of clothing?"

"No, no!" Lief said. His mind was in overload. What was the right thing to say? "No, it looks fine. Great even," he added quickly. "I was just wondering why you chose them."

"I didn't actually," she said. "Doom did."

"Wait, but you just accused me of disliking your choice clothing, when it's not even yours?" Lief said, now curious.

"Well, I agreed that they looked nice, so technically, it was my choice."

"I bet, you agreed just to get it off your hands, didn't you."

Jasmines face flushed, when Lief could not suppress his smile. "Move it! I want to go to the feast." She lightly shoved him.

"You didn't answer my question," Lief said, and Jasmine looked like she was suppressing laughter on her part.

"Ah, thank you, good people of Del!" Lindal and Barda said at the same time, making sure their voices echoed down the banquet hall, from the head of the table, which was where they sat. "I'd like to thank all of you, for supporting me, and my wife here!" Barda said, smiling when he said wife. "Without your help, I'd surely be dead right now. I must also give my thanks to King Lief, and Jasmine, my companions for a long time now. I don't know where I'd be without them."

Applause broke out, and Lief gave a warm smile, as did Jasmine, who now sat across from him.

Lindal now spoke. "I also must thank the people of Del, for your great hospitality, and kindness. I have made a decision, to stay here with Barda, and live out my days in Del, with happiness, for better or for worse." Some laughs at that. "I will leave for a short period of time after this banquet has done, and spend a few days in Broome with Barda, and say goodbye to friends and family. I'm glad to say, after that, I'm here to stay."

More applause. Lief looked up at the bearded Barda, who was dressed in black tuxedo, which did not actually seem to suit him that much.

Lindal, whose bald head was painted in the swirling red patterns of Broome, was in a red gown of her own, not the customary white ones, with lines of flashing gold here and there, which must have been hard to make considering her size. Her face was well adorned with makeup, but not enough to make it completely noticeable.

"Now, it is my great honor, I let the banquet, begin!"

Talking and sounds of eating and drinking erupted and enveloped all other sounds in the room. Lief picked several articles of food to eat. Vast amount of fruits, adorned to all kinds of meats, and drinks, the meat including a roast pig, several chickens, a turkey, he was guessing, veggies such as tomatoes, salads, corn, etc.

But when he added what he wanted to his plate he simply took a bite out of his chicken, and didn't touch anything else. It all tasted dry.

The marriage had really gotten Lief thinking. Love, an intricate, and almost unable to be understood thing, man has found, but never interpreted. Lief had found someone whom he believed he had fallen in love with, but she had not been in love with him. she had only acted, to work her way to the top. But it had cost her life.

She had attempted to steal the Diamond, and the result? She had ended up in a stream, dead.

He had tried to understand what it was that made love work, but only confused himself more the more he dived into it. He only knew one thing about love, his love life actually; he was deeply in love with Jasmine.

It was something Lief had broken down. He had figured he had always had these feelings for Jasmine, since their quest for the belt, which presently warmed his waist, but the feelings had never surfaced this strongly. It was not simply because of Jasmine's increasing beauty. That had been the only reason he had "fallen in love with" Neridah. Jasmine… had a wild side, something Lief yearned for, which made him laugh, and comforted him, despite what, "Wild side" meant. He knew he was in love with Jasmine, and wanted to become part of her life. It was one of the only things being king could not give him. He wanted Jasmine to be with him, and, him to be with her. Maybe it was because they were opposites, and he wanted someone to keep him in check. Maybe it was because their fathers had been best friends, so they had a pre-existing close relationship. Or maybe, it was coincidence.

His stomach churned at the thought of being rejected by her, but then his thought veered to Barda and Lindal. It was very obvious, Barda had had feelings for Lindal, and so had she for him, and Barda had worked up the courage to propose, and here they were, sitting at the head of the banquet, in the castle, per Lief's doing, eating, drinking, laughing. It seemed so easy for him, and the hardest thing to do for Lief.

Barda…

Lief stuck a hand out, and waved to Barda, who was talking to Lindal who laughed a hearty laugh. Barda turned toward him, seeing the hand. Lief turned around, and spotted a hallway not far off. He pointed over there, and motioned for him to follow.

Barda turned to Lindal, spoke, and smiled. Lindal pecked his cheek, and Barda stood to follow Lief, who was halfway out of his chair. "Where are you off to?" Jasmine asked.

"I was about to say the same thing," Sharn said. "You've hardly touched your food."

"I have to speak to Barda," Lief said.

"About what?"

Lief scrambled for an answer. "Ummmm…" His eyes veered to Jasmine. "King stuff."

"King stuff?" Jasmine asked, clearly disbelieving. "Lief, if you think-"

"Sorry, got to go!" Lief took his opening, and left the table. It was really important that this be done. He needed to talk to Barda. Advice was needed in this kind of situation, and he could not tell the truth, not in front of Jasmine.

The hallway seemed to lead to the kitchen, since Lief could smell more food being made. Even after being king for so long, he still could not get around the Palace's vastness, and intricate rooms and hallways.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about Leif?" Barda asked, in the hallway.

"Um…" Lief was stuttering again. It felt embarrassing to ask this question, and he was wondering whether to ask him or not. But his tongue worked its way out of his closed mouth and said what he wanted to say. "I'm having girl trouble."

"Oh," Barda said, ruffling his beard slightly.

"I was wondering if you could give me a little advice," Lief said. He gave the collar of his suit a tug, in nervousness.

"Hm, this is going to be tricky," Barda said, still stroking his beard. Lief tensed as one of the servers came out with a platter of food and smiled past him. Lief waved.

"Tricky? Why is it tricky? Barda!"

"Well, it's tricky because this is Jasmine we're speaking of, and who is trickier?"

"Jasmine!?" Lief said. "W-why would does it have to be Jasmine I'm talking about?"

"Lief," Barda said, placing a large hand on his shoulder. "Lief, Lief, Lief, Lief." Barda was chuckling. "I almost feel like a father of you, since I have almost known you since the day you were born. I know you, have followed you since before our quest, protecting you. And being a guard, I have to be able to read emotions."

Lief pulled at his collar again. "I see your face when you look at her. Stare at her even. It's very, very, very obvious. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only one who does not know, is Jasmine herself, and Doom."

"Why Doom?" Lief asked tentatively.

"Because he would have already beaten the stuffing out of you had he known." Barda gave another hearty laugh. "So, have I guessed right?"

Lief sighed. What use was denying it? "Yes, you have guessed right. But can you give me advice?"

"Well, Lief, if there is one thing I know about women, it is that there are never two of the same, but, they have a single similar trait. Lindal is a strong, and amazing woman. If she wasn't we wouldn't be here today. But for the proposal, I wanted to give her something. Not some dainty ring, that's for sure." Barda was making hand motions as he spoke, trying to give Lief a general idea of what he was trying to get across, which Lief was trying to understand.

"I gave her a new hunting knife, one I made myself."

" _You_ made it?" Lief asked in disbelief. What Barda had said before was true. Barda had known Lief for almost his entire life. And so had Lief known Barda. And he also knew, Barda was a terrible blacksmith.

"It, took a couple of tries, but I got it right, I think," Barda said proudly. "And she loved it. She kept the old one, of course, but only carries the one I made in her sheath. Women like honesty, and sincerity, from someone. Jasmine trusts you, and I believe, if you try to give her a gift, than ask, it may work."

Lief smiled.

"Then again, this is Jasmine we're talking about. Maybe… try getting to know her better. Who is closest to Jasmine as of now?"

"Doom?" Lief tried.

"If that's your answer, your trying to commit suicide, Lief," and with that, Barda headed back to the table head and rejoined Lindal.

"Who is closest to Jasmine?" Lief wondered aloud. And then his answer came to mind.

"Kree? Filli?" Lief was walking amongst the flurry of black feathers, bird droppings, and angry caws that was the messenger room. At the end of the "4 sisters" fiasco, Jasmine had taken the liberty of training ravens to be messenger birds, and kept them in this rounded turret of the castle, where there were holes in the walls, and roof, for sunlight, air, etc.

Lief found Kree by finding Filli. The little furry beast was now the size of his whole hand, not just his palm. He sat like an obedient dog, making little squeaking sounds to a bird next to him, who's brittle and old wings no longer flew.

"Filli, Kree, I, uh, want to ask you something." Filli hopped from the perch he was upon, and onto Lief's shoulder. He'd become a lot heavier since the last time he'd been on that spot. Kree, also jumped onto him, his left shoulder this time.

Kree croaked, instead of cawed, and pointed a talon to one hole. "Okay, I'll take you outside. I was planning to take a walk in the forest anyway."

Sunlight dappled through the tree branches, and created bright patched on Lief's white suit, and dry leaves crunched underfoot. "It's about Jasmine…" Lief said. He glanced at Kree, than Filli, and continued his work. "I'm – I'm in love with Jasmine," he said, forcing the words out of his mouth. "And I wanted to ask for some advice, since you've known Jasmine longest."

Filli appeared to be laughing. "What?" Lief said innocently. "I am, and it's not funny!"

Filli was now making high pitched squeaking noises, and Lief was sure he was guffawing. "Why do you find it funny?"

Filly shook a tear from his eye. Kree cawed, and pointed again with his talon. "What? There are only trees." Then he realized trees were significant in Jasmine's world. Maybe…

"Wait, isn't that…" Lief went toward the tree, and his suspicion was right – up in the canopy of the tree was the home Jasmine had lived in, for the 9 years after Anna's capture and forthcoming death.

Like the last time he had been here, he grabbed a rough purchase in the tree, and pulled himself up, to a low tree limb. He attempted to put his weight on it, but it cracked immediately, and he nearly fell. He found another purchase, and found a sturdier limb. From there, he jumped and caught hold of the bottom of the box, and pulled himself up, and inside

The leaves on the tree had grown in and around the wooden box and hung on the walls. The things that Jasmine had left behind were still on the floors collecting dust. Filli immediately jumped off of Lief's shoulder, and began scampering onto a faded blanket strewn on the floor.

Kree also hopped off of Lief's shoulder and climbed on some old glass bottles, a single uneaten berry, a small story book, and a single flower in the corner of the treehouse.

Lief walked forward and bent down to examine the flower. It had white petals, decorated with a faded yellow pattern. The stamen on the inside dripped with long dried gold nectar, which reminded Lief of the lilies of life, the flowers that lay in this very forest.

He suddenly knew what kind of flower it was. "This is a jasmine…" he breathed. Kree turned toward him, and nodded his head. Filli squeaked in approval.

"Not this one," Lief said. "I have to find one. Myself."

With that, he took the two animals down the tree, and headed to the front of the castle, and ran straight into Doom. He fell back, as did Lief, and a fresh loaf tumbled from his hand. Luckily, Kree and Filly, dug their claws and talons painfully into Lief's shoulders.

"Dammit, Lief, keep your eyes up," he said, rubbing his face where his scar was. "This is fresh bread. Was."

"Where we're you going with it?" Lief asked. Doom glared at him, and then he sighed. "I was out for a walk. But now, I'm walking back to the kitchen for more bread."

"Oh." Lief said. "Can you take Filli and Kree back to the Messenger Room?"

Filli hissed, but hopped down, along with Kree, towards Doom, and Filly climbed up him, without Doom giving an answer. "Why can you not do it?" Doom asked.

"I have to find something, important," Lief said. "Thanks, Kree, Filli. I'll be back soon." And Lief ran back into the forest.

"What's he looking for?" Doom asked Filli, who immediately began to laugh once more.

Lief had found no sign of any jasmine flowers after an hour of searching. He didn't know where to look, not even a general location. He pushed back bushes, looked up trees, and even went through thorns.

There was a big circle of trees, with vines hanging from the tops of them like loose pieces of string. Apparently it was a circle, otherwise, Lief would have been able to go around it. There seemed to be something behind, it, but was hidden from Lief's view.

The belt glowed at his waist, and he looked down upon it. He remembered something… as if he'd… He leaned against a tree, but his hand caught wind of a vine instead, which slipped around the tree, and pulled Lief into the circle. He tumbled down a slope for no more than three seconds, surely, and hit dusty ground. He coughed, trying to get the wind that had been knocked out of him.

When he did, he realized where he was because of what he saw. Pieces of golden armor glinted in the sunlight coming through the top of the encirclement, for there were no trees in its center. He did not remember this space of sunlight, since the last time he was here.

Gorl's pieces of armor were still there, after 5 years, untouched, seemingly preserved. His sword was strewn between the pieces on the ground, and behind them. Lief could see the Lilies of Life.

His hand went toward the Topaz, at the center of the belt. This was the place where he had found the first gem. He looked around. His senses were muddled from his fall, but at the edge of the circle of sunlight…

"Hm…" Lief walked toward the patch of jasmine flowers. He had not remembered them being here the last time. Then again, it had been 5 years ago. Then again, again, he had nearly lost his life, so how could he have forgotten? Maybe it was because he had almost died, more than ten times, he was certain.

It mattered not, for what he was searching for, he'd found. He took his sword from his sheath – this had to be done, with precision. He nearly cut the stem of the jasmine out, and take only the petals. Then he realized he wanted this to last. He sheathed his sword, and pulled the flower out – roots and all. When he returned to the palace, he would have it replanted.

Now, the only thing left was the hardest part. Telling Jasmine…

Thoughts coursed through Lief's head, of how things might happen. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of a way things might turn out right; First and forefront, Jasmine flat out denying him, or Jasmine accepting, and something bad happening afterwards.

He shook his head. His mind was getting a little depressing right about now. Then he realized how easily a white suit could get dirty. He looked down at himself. His clothes were stained with dirt, and his jacket had a tear, not big enough to notice, but it was there. He would have to go back to the palace and change.

He climbed up the slope, flower in hand, and ready to take a clean bath. He pushed through the crevice he had come from and was about to go somewhere when Lief heard something.

"Lief?" As his name was said, he turned, and who else would it be, but Jasmine. She was gazing curiously at Lief, now changed out of the clothes she had worn to the wedding, and into something she would normally wear: The things she had stolen from the grey guards. "What were you doing down there?"

Lief felt his face burn. He decided to go with the truth. "I was looking for something," he answered.

"Well you 'look' like you've fallen out of a tree. In that nice suit too," she clucked.

"You think this is nice?" Lief asked.

"Not anymore," Jasmine said with a laugh. "Hey what is that you have in your hand?"

On instinct, he hid the flower behind his back. "Nothing!" he said. But Jasmine was fast. She sprung to her feet, and had grabbed Lief's arm in a solid grip.

"Oh, a flower?" She released his hand, and her own slackened to her sides. She appeared somewhat… disheartened. "Who is that for?"

Lief got redder and redder in the face. "Let me guess. Its king stuff? Leave it to the King of Deltora to be at a loss for words." Her gaze hardened to a glare. "Why am I not surprised?" And she began to storm off, when Lief grabbed her hand. "Let go of me!" she yelled at once, whipping Lief's, hand back with her own.

"Wait! Jasmine!" Lief cursed at himself as Jasmines flash of black hair disappeared behind the trees. He gave chase. _Dammit, why do I have to be in love with someone who is so rash?_

Jasmines near weightlessness made her soundless, while Lief crashed through, and tripped over every single thing there was to trip over, and then some. "Jasmine! Jasmine, come back!"

Lief was desperate now. Why had she run off like that, and what reason did she have for snapping at him? Love was very confusing, especially to Lief, it seemed. The suit he wore slowed his limb movement, but he pushed forward. He was running in circles, and no trace of Jasmine could be found.

He resorted to calling her name, which produced similar results. The wind tousled the trees, and Lief's hair. Oh, this hadn't gone as planned, and worse.

The leaves at his feet crunched with all the sound in the world, and Lief suddenly realized he was in danger, of the Wenn, and of course, the Wennbar, it was a surprise he hadn't been found yet.

He then realized that Jasmine was not dim enough to stay on the forest floor, for the Wenn to capture her, and the Wenbarr to eat her. She either went back to Del, or…

He had no time to run all the way to Del. He ran out into the wood, keeping his head up till he found what he was looking for; Jasmines tree house. He scrambled up the tree, and pulled himself through the hole.

Just as he thought, Jasmine was there. But she had her knees up, and her face curled into them, her arms folded at the forefront. And to Lief's immense surprise, he heard her crying.

"Jasmine," Lief said aloud. And then he realized what Jasmine must have been thinking, when he had the flower in his hand. That it had been for someone else, another girl, and when Lief hadn't spoken earlier, she must have confirmed it, when truly they had been for her.

Lief didn't know what to do, in this type of sensitive situation. What he did do, was crawl over, and sit next to Jasmine as she sobbed. She stopped, and turned her head up, and when she saw who had sat next to her, she turned her head back down.

"What do you want?" She asked. Lief honestly was too nervous to answer. "Don't you have a date with someone?"

"Yes, I do," Lief said. He didn't know why he had spoken, but again, his tongue had worked its way out of his closed mouth and made words come out.

"With who?" Jasmine asked, sounding like she was back on the verge of tears.

"With you," he responded. Then, his body overruled his mind, and he bent his hand forward, lifted her chin, and pressed his lip to hers.

Lief's mind was doing somersaults, as Lief realized what he was doing, and he fell into it. Her lips were warm, and Lief tasted a sweet taste in the mouth as her tears fell onto his face. Lief had honestly done nothing this great, ever in his life. They were the only ones there, and the only ones that mattered.

Jasmine slowly pulled away, and her tears broke even further, and she hugged him tighter than anyone had before, burying her face in the clothes Lief was wearing.

Lief hugged her back, and ran his fingers through Jasmines long black hair. And then, Lief confessed; "I've been in love with you for as long as I can remember, and haven't loved anyone since. Your beautiful, clever, quick witted, funny, and everything I want. It's hard to see you yell at me, or be angry with me, and to be honest, I find myself stuttering in front of you. I can't stop thinking, of the happiness I could bring you, or that you could bring me. This flower is a jasmine flower. It was for you."

Jasmine continued to cry in his arms, and Lief waited for her response. When she finally lifted her head, her eyes were red, and her face was wet. "I loved you too. I can't put it into words but…" She tugged at his jacket. "I wanted to be with you. But how could I, the wild girl, who wants to be free, and wild the way she is, be with the king of Deltora, in a stuffy palace where I don't belong?"

Lief remained silent for a moment. "We don't have to live in the castle," he said. "We could live in the forge where I grew up, in the city, or we could even live here, in the forest, or we could even travel, where you see fit. As long as I'm with you it doesn't matter to me."

"That is sweet Lief, but it's fine. I will live in the palace with you. On one condition."

"Anything," Lief said.

"If we are to ever have children, the first twelve years of their life will be spent in the forge."

"Deal," Lief said. He hugged her tighter. "I'm glad I can tell you. This has been weighing in my chest for so long."

"As was mine," Jasmine agreed. She then pulled up and Lief and Jasmine's lips once again met.

They stayed there, the entire night, and Jasmine and Lief fell asleep, in the trees, in each other's arms.


	3. Chapter 1: The Next Generation

Chapter 1

The Next Generation

Endon awoke to the sound of persistent chirping. He made to ignore it, and rolled his head over. But the chirping continued.

"Jarred, shut your bird up!" Endon heard Anna yell. He sat up. If Anna was awake, there was no point sleeping. She'd come to bother him, as well as Jarred. Endon climbed out of bed in the striped pajama's he was used to wearing, and walked barefoot to the edge of his small room. The cottage was fairly large, larger his father had said, than in his day.

His feet made a slapping noises, as he headed to, and poked his head inside of, Jarred's room. Jarred was not up, and had slept through Anna's order. Naturally. Jarred was not the type of child who was always jumping around or making noise, but more of the thoughtful type. But he was extremely quick when he wanted to be, and clever, as well as deductive.

Endon would have none of his sleeping in though. He came up to his bedside, and irresponsibly jabbed his rib. Jarred yelped in pain and shot up. Endon's brother had hair that was a black, almost light enough to be gray, which Endon had joked about several times. Besides that, he was nearly a perfect image of Endon; Lean, but full of color, with smiles that told others they were a devious duo – they were twins after all. Endon's hair was a dirty blonde that was most likely messy and distorted.

"Again, Endon?" Jarred complained. "A light nudge would do."

"I did," Endon lied. "With mother's pitchfork."

Jarred laughed. "Both you and I know you're a terrible liar."

"Jarred!" Anna said, barging into the room. Her long black hair was frizzled and her sharp features were pointed at Jarred. "Shut up your bird! It is pestering me beyond belief!"

"Aveen isn't 'my bird.' She just likes to hang around me," Jarred stated.

"Yet you feed it, walk with it, play with it, and let it sleep next to you nearly every day! I don't care if she's your bird or not! Make it be quiet!" She then left.

"'Make it be quiet'," Endon said in a mocking tone.

The twins laughed. "We don't have to refer to you as 'it' Anna." Again they chuckled at their own jokes. "But you better be quiet."

This time a sharp calling could be heard from the window. "Oh, all right, I'll get Aveen." Jarred walked from the room, and Endon followed, and was lead to the forge, where his father was already working. King Lief had let his hair grow longer, and had accepted a little snippet of hair to grow at the end of his chin.

He wore a refitted tunic, with gloves, and a black belt around his waist. He wore brown pants, and boots. It was hard to believe, that in a little while, he'd be taking a carriage to the castle.

But now, he was hard at work on something, banging a piece of bright metal with an anvil. His face looked tense through the mask he was wearing, but that was dad when he was making things in the morning.

"Morning, dad," Endon said, walking past, and into the kitchen. Lief gave a wave of recognition, and slammed the anvil, making a clinging sound. In the kitchen, Jasmine was buttering three slices of freshly toasted bread. She had her hair done in a nice braid, and was wearing an apron over her normal home attire.

Anna groaned as she came in. "Toast, again?" she sat at the wooden table after grabbing a plate from the cabinets. "Mom, I'm a 15 year old princess. Shouldn't I be served cake for breakfast?"

"I was worried you'd turn out like that," Jasmine said. "You're spoiled."

"I am not spoiled! I just deserve better!" Anna huffed.

Jasmine sighed, and then she handed Anna two slices. She grumpily ate. "I hated living in a castle, every bit of it, the big beds, everyone doing things for you, following you, helping you with everything, the tight clothes. The only thing I liked about being queen was the food."

"Then why'd you do it, mom?" Endon asked.

"Because, I loved your father," she said. She handed a plate to Endon, and placed two pieces on top of it. "As simple as that."

Jarred came in, with a black bird upon his shoulder, its wing covered in a streak of blue. Aveen, the bird Jarred had discovered by accidently splattering its wing blue, when he had been painting, like he did all the time. He washed off every part of paint except for the wing, so that he would recognize it if it ever came back. It did, many times.

"Ah, Jarred." Jasmine handed Jarred three pieces of toast. "The last one is for Aveen. At least _she_ favors my toast," she said, giving a glance at Anna.

"Do we start packing, mom?" Jarred asked.

"Ask your father," Jasmine said, taking a bite out of her own toast.

"He told me he can't do anything without your permission," Jarred said. Jasmine turned red, and Endon couldn't guess why. "We start living in the castle tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, on your twelfth birthday. You can start packing, when you finish this plate of fruit." She placed a large plate filled with fruit at the center of the table. The three siblings glanced at each other, and then back at the plate. In a split second after that, they were scrabbling over the table for the best pickings. The fruit Jasmine had were not store bought, but fresh picked, and when Jasmine picked fruit, it was the best of the best of fruit. Aveen tried her best to get at the fruit, but only scraped by with a single grape. Good enough.

Endon managed to get an apple, several plump grapes, and an especially juicy orange. He cleared up in minutes, and downed his water quickly.

Following this he clambered out of the kitchen, and back to his room. He took his knapsack, and a rather large chest, and began to fold and pack his clothes, toys, and his one book, that his father made him read every once in a while; The Belt of Deltora.

He did not know for what reason he would need to read it – Anna would be queen anyhow. Besides, it was not in his best interest to become king. If anyone, Jarred should be king. He was more responsible, smart, the kingly type of person. But still, the book interested him. The magic of the belt of Deltora, its history making. He gently placed it in his chest, and closed it.

He came into Jarred's room, where Jarred was doing neater packing than Endon had. "Jarred, do you know what we'll be doing today?" Endon said.

"After I finish packing?" Jarred asked.

"Yes, what will be doing?" Endon asked eagerly.

"What about barrel rolling?"

"Down the little slope in the square?" Endon asked.

"No, the steeper one a little farther away, obviously." Jarred was the quiet and clever type. That didn't mean he wasn't the type for reckless fun.

"Let's take Aveen, keep her as a lookout." Endon said. "We can't be crashing into anyone like last time, can we?"

"I already sent her out," Jarred said.

"Let's go then."

Jarred smiled. He couldn't sit here at the prospect of intense trouble making. He left his packing unfinished, and they got up to leave.

"Where are you off to?" Their father asked.

"Somewhere where there's something educational to learn," Endon said, and he and Jarred where out the door, laughing and running through the streets of Del, full of color, and people, and chatter.

The street they were on was crowded, but not enough to slow there dash. They paused at the open square. Step 1, the barrel. At a place like the square, barrels were common, carrying things like fish, and wine, and similar stuff. Endon spotted one, discarded, and ready to be tossed.

"Over there!" he said. The twins clambered over to the barrel, and hefted it up between them.

"It has a pretty big hole," Jarred said. Endon noticed the grapefruit sized puncture, and paid it no further mind.

"Who cares? It's going down a slope." They turned it till they had a decent grip on it, and carried it down in front of the bakery. Where the bakery was, straight across from it was a downward slope, leading to the edge of Del.

"Aveen?" Jarred called. They heard a single caw. "Two for no, one for yes. Let's go!" Jarred began to set it down, but Endon stopped him.

"We can do better than this. Hmmm…" Endon said. "What if… what if we got inside the barrel?"

"Really? Endon that is the stupidest and most dangerous thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth. Let's do it!"

The two slammed a hole into one end of the barrel, and Endon noticed others noticing what they were doing, and like always, they pretended that the twins weren't there. Smart people.

Finally both hooked themselves into the hole, and drew their knees up to fit inside. "How do we start rolling?" Jarred asked.

"Just lean," Endon replied.

"Like this?" And the barrel started its roll. At first, the twins fell on top of each other, but soon enough, the ground seemed to disappear beneath them, and they were spinning like a top down the stone passageway.

Endon was really rethinking this decision when they reached the first bump. They had accelerated to ten times the speed of Jarred's running, and when they hit the loose stone in their path, the barrel was airborne for several seconds, and that's when Endon and Jarred's whoops of excitement changed to yells of fear.

It crashed, but amazingly stayed stable – enough. The whole they made had stretched to the side of the barrel, and the grapefruit hole grew to a melon sized one. Luckily, Endon nor Jarred were atop it, and the speed of the barrel kept them in one spot on the inside. The barrel leveled out to flat ground, causing a bump that slowed them slightly, but not enough.

"This was a terrible idea!" Jarred yelled.

"Yeah, this'll definitely get the top spot on the 'don't list'!" Endon yelled back.

But in a jarring moment, the barrel stopped completely, and Endon and Jarred collided on the forward side of the barrel, to yelps of pain, accompanied by a pained grunt.

Someone had stopped the barrel. But who could have?

"You two are the biggest dimwits I've ever been friends with! Rolling down the slope road in a barrel?"

"Rodan!" Jarred and Endon said at the same time. They crawled out of the barrel, and did some immediate hurling. When they wiped the mess off of their chins, the shakily climbed to their feet, to greet the eldest of Barda and Lindal's children.

Rodan was at least 6 feet tall, at the age of 16, with a swirl of red hair over his head, dyed. He was not the kind of beefy most people of his strength would be, but he did have packed muscles on his body. His skin was tan color created by someone who worked in the sun all day, and he smirked at the kids below him.

"Quick, before father, or worse, mother, finds you. Follow me to the back of the cottage." Rodan grabbed them by the arm, and pulled them a little too quickly to the path that led behind large home that was Barda's. The cottage lay squished between a clothing store, and the new blacksmiths shop, close to the city walls. Because it was squished, they were not able to pass by the sides. They went through the blacksmiths, found a backdoor, exited through it, and were in the backyard of the cottage.

There, a few plants grew, along with vegetables, bushels of fruit, and a couple of trees. There was Alex, the third oldest of the family, sitting on a bench. At 14, he was almost as tall as his older brother, but his black hair was longer than Rodan's red. So long that it reached the base of his shoulder blades, and the hairs at his forehead splayed up slightly.

"Endon, Jarred, you look like you're about to hurl," he said. "Don't worry; I have a bucket for that!" He went inside, to look for it. That was the thing about Alex. He managed to have something for every situation, somewhere, somehow. He came out with a wooden bucket that seemed ridden by years of use.

Endon and Jarred knocked their heads together as the hurled in the same bucket.

"What'd they do this time?" Endon heard Alex ask.

"Barrel rolling."

"Why are they throwing up like that?"

"They were inside the barrel."

"Amazing! And you survived? You guys have to teach me how to do that sometime." Endon almost laughed as his toast finally came up. He had nothing left to phlegm, so he sat up, and wiped it on his sleeve again.

"Hello, Alex." he croaked. "It was our biggest stunt yet, and it was awesome."

"And if I hadn't been there, that would have been the 'biggest' red stain on the castle wall," Rodan said, tapping his sandaled foot impatiently.

Jarred came up from the bucket, apparently done making mess. "Thanks, Rodan. Won't happen again."

"Ah, c'mon, Jarred," Endon said.

"No. We almost _died_ , Endon. I should never have supported your decision, even if it was the most amazing thing I've ever done," Jarred said.

"Very responsible of you Jarred, reflecting on a mistake like that," A female voice said. For a moment, everyone tensed up, but it was simply Abigail.

"I swear, Abigail, you sound more and more like Lindal every time I hear you!" Endon said, taking a breath of relief. Abigail was the second oldest of the six children, with long black hair, that curled over her shoulders. Her face was round, her eyes brown, like her other 5 siblings.

"Hello, Donny," she said with a smile, ruffling Endon's hair. He turned red.

"I told you, I don't like it when you call me that," he said.

"You're face betrays you," Jarred said, smiling. Abigail laughed.

"Shut up, she just calls me that because she thinks I'm better than you are!"

"She calls me by my real name because I'm more mature than you are."

"Or because she can't come up with a good nickname for you."

"Hm, who's talking so loudly back there?" Barda came huffing into the yard, as Endon hastily hid the bucket in a strawberry bush. "I come home for a quiet lunch with my wife, and I'm interrupted by the argument of name calling."

"Hello, uncle Barda," Jarred said.

"For the umpteenth time, I am not your uncle," Barda said.

"And for the umpteenth time, uncle, father told us to call you as such, you being my god father," Endon said.

Barda's beard had grown some white streaks, but he had lost none of his natural physique. He wore the customary uniform of the palace guards, along with the symbol that named him chief.

"Ah. You look hungry. Come inside, I'm sure Lindal wouldn't mind fixing up an extra two sandwiches."

As Barda walked inside, Endon pulled out the barf bucket. "Rodan could you…?"

"I'll go dump it," Rodan droned. He took the bucket, and headed back through the blacksmiths.

Endon and Jarred headed inside, and quickly dodged a running Barry who was playing with a toy bird. The five year old was the only one of the six children with brown hair, but his eyes were brown, and his clothes messy stained with something that was hopefully a reddish soup.

"Barry, watch yourself!" Barda said, and Abby hefted Barry up and on her shoulder, and followed Alex, Endon, and Jarred.

In the sitting room, there were several sofas, and a little easel, with a painting of the cottage they were now standing in. No doubt, Katrina's work, Endon thought. They reached the kitchen, where the giantess of a woman, Lindal, stood preparing a rather large sandwich.

"Hi, aunt Lindal," Endon and Jarred said at the same time.

"Boys, it has been a while," Lindal said. "Would you like a sandwich?"

"Yeah," Endon said immediately.

"Please," Jarred added.

"Okay, I'll slice a portion off of Barda's…"

"Now let's not get crazy here," Barda said, and his present children laughed.

Katrina appeared around the doorway, past the bodies of Alex and Abby. "Mom, Luke is messing with my paintings again," Katrina said. She was the third youngest of the children, at age of 12. Her hair was also died red, as close to Lindal's head patterns as they would get. She was lean, and, Endon thought, slightly pretty. Her eyes shifted from Endon, to Jarred, and back again.

"Hello, you terrible twins," she said. Katrina still appeared angry about that time that Endon and Jarred had painted some rude words on the side of several buildings, using _her_ paint.

"Hey, Katrina," Jarred said.

"Hey, Kat," Endon said.

"That'll never catch on, Endon," Katrina said grumpily.

"Unlike my name?"

Luke, the second youngest child, older than Barry by six years, then appeared over the head of Katrina. His black hair was cut short, and curled around his eyes, and he grinned a grin that showed he had recently lost some teeth. Whether that was naturally or not, Endon didn't know.

"Hey, Endon, Jarred," he said, and then turned to his mother. "If Kat said that I painted on my wall with her paint, I didn't, it was Barry."

"Both you and I know your lying," Lindal said. Luke looked downcast. "Luke, stop messing with your sisters paints. Kat, learn to solve your problems with your brother without my help.

"Never catch on, huh?" Endon said. Katrina sighed. She and Luke retreated from their side door peak.

Lindal handed Endon and jarred each a suitable portion, without seemingly dimming the size of the sandwich Barda had.

"Here you go boys, enjoy," she said, smiling. The twins said their thank yous, and slid past the 4 siblings, to go after the other two, with their sandwiches in hand. Barry begged to be put down, and was granted his wish. He took hold of his toy bird, and made whooshing sounds as he followed Endon and Jarred.

They came into a room that was split down the middle by neat ink. On one side, the room was neat, the bed was made, the floor was clean, and several neat paintings hung on the wall. On the bed, Katrina now lay, reading a book.

On the other side of the black line, a mess preceded, courtesy of Luke, including clothes, little food scraps, and an array of toys. Speaking of, that very same person was doing somersaults on his bed, it making creaking sounds, hinting at its eventual destruction.

Jarred bent over to see one painting that was not yet propped up on the wall. It was of a forest, looking over sunrise, or sunset, with a set of blackbirds flying from the scene.

"When'd you make that?" he asked, intrigued. "It wasn't here the last time."

"It's new," Katrina said, sitting next to him to look at it.

Endon veered over to Luke's side, and plopped on his bed, followed by Barry. "So, what's your latest escapade?" Luke asked.

"According to Rodan, almost dying," Endon responded.

"Cool!" Luke responded enthusiastically. He plopped down next to him. "Barry, up here."

He grabbed the child by the sides of his ribs, and hefted him onto his lap.

"No, I don't wanna sit here!" he said in a practiced whiny voice. He skillfully escaped Luke's grip, and scrambled his way to hang onto Endon.

"I guess he likes me better than you," Endon said with a grin.

"Yeah, well I hope you don't drown in that wave of saliva," he said grinning back."

"Aye! Barry, keep your spit in your mouth!" he yelled to the child who was drooling on his tunic, while yelling "whoosh" and waving the bird around with one hand, and still gripping Endon around the neck with the other.

Luke laughed. "So, anyway, what was it you were doing?" Endon then recounted their new form of barrel rolling, and how Rodan had stopped them, even the part of their seemingly endless vomiting. "Wow," he said in awe. "That reminds me of that time you almost got away with stealing from the principal, by climbing up the side of the tower."

"Yeah, almost, if Katrina hadn't told," Endon said.

"You guys are really stepping up your game nowadays. Oh, by the way, since we're talking about school, you missed school the last day of the week, because you were 'sick'" he said, making air quotes. "We have a paper to write on Monday, of how the belt came to be."

"Oh, another one of those papers?" Endon groaned, through a huge mouthful of the delicious sandwich. At least once a year, in his school, Endon had to take the same stupid test about how the Belt of Deltora came to be, and each explanation, had to be more detailed than the last. It wasn't that the test was hard. No, Endon had read " _The Belt of Deltora"_ enough times. It was just that it was a pain, even more of a pain each time he did it.

"Forget it, I could do it last minute and still get a perfect score – like always."

"Yeah, since the Belt is like what your life revolves around," Luke said.

"I don't revolve around the belt. The belt revolves around me!" Endon snapped out. Luke quickly recoiled and then gave a downcast look. "S-sorry, I didn't mean…" he nibbled at his sandwich now.

The truth was, his life did revolve around the belt, even though it was not very likely it would be passed down to him. It only would, if Anna were to die, disappear, or to be unable to take the throne. The Belt of Deltora, the book that he, Jarred, and Anna had to read over and over since they were little. The belt itself, which Jasmine and Lief, and even uncle Barda had risked their lives for. The belt that protected Deltora. The belt that was his heritage.

"Forget it," Luke said. "Anyway, have you ever even seen the belt?"

"I will tomorrow," Endon said. "On our twelfth birthday, mine and Jarred's, we're moving to the castle, and we have to do a ceremony, or something. And then, on Anna's sixteenth birthday, in a couple of months, Anna will have to put it on, I think. It doesn't matter, if I'm not king. Who wants to be a stupid king anyway?" He took another huge bite out of his sandwich.

"Not me," Luke agreed.

"I will!" Barry yelled suddenly. "I'll be king, and I can do whatever I want! I'll be a bird, and I'll flew to the sun!"

Luke and Endon laughed. "What?" Barry asked honestly. "I'm serious! I gonna fly!" Endon ruffled Barry's hair, and kept laughing.

He finished his sandwich, and saw Jarred and Katrina carefully examining a single painting, of what he didn't know, because its back was turned to him. He paid it no mind, even when he did feel a slight pang in his gut. Why should he? His twin was just talking to his lifelong cru – no, a girl he found _slightly_ pretty.

He shook his head. Why would he care?

"Jarred, maybe we should go," Endon said.

"Hm?" he said. "Um, in a sec."

"Barry, Luke, I'll be seeing you," Endon said, setting Barry down, and finishing his sandwich.

"See you the day after tomorrow, _prince_ Endon."

"Don't ever, _ever,_ call me that," Endon said, but Luke only laughed.

Endon clambered off the bed, and headed through the door, but poked his head back around. Jarred was still talking to Katrina. "Now, Jarred, if mom finds out about our little, 'detour' before getting to uncle Barda's house, she'll burn holes through us with her eyes."

"Okay, okay, coming." He said a bye to Katrina, then waved to Luke and Barry, and followed Endon through the door.

Rodan ruffled their hair as he walked by, bent down, and whispered into their ears, "You owe me, a lot. Pay me, or you'll get it."

"What's 'it'?" Jarred asked.

"It," Rodan said, and leaves it at that.

"Are you leaving, Donny, Jarred?" Abigail asked as they passed. Endon only nods. "Bye, then, Jarred. Bye Donny." She said the last sentence with a hint of affection, making Endon blush. Jarred laughed.

When they entered the kitchen, which was also where the front door was, Lindal was washing dishes, Barda was finishing his sandwich, and Alex was crafting something out of wood.

"Goodbye uncle Barda, Aunt Lindal, Alex," Endon and Jarred said at the same time.

"See you, twins," Alex said.

"Goodbye, Endon, Jarred," Lindal said.

Barda tried to speak through his mouthful of sandwich, but coughed instead. "I told you, no more talking while eating," Lindal said exasperated, and the others laughed. The twins waved and exited through the door.

As they walked, Endon noticed something of Jarred. "What were you and Kat talking about?" he asked.

"Why?" Jarred inquired back.

"Well, you still have your sandwich in your hand," Endon said.

"Really?" Jarred said, wagging the sandwich in Endon's face. "Or is it because someone's jealous?"

Endon felt his face burn. "Jealous? Jealous of what?"

"Don't play dumb, I know you like her."

"Yeah, we're friends, friends like each other," Endon said.

"NO, not like, _like_ -like. You told me that you _like_ her, not too long ago," Jarred said, playfully poking him.

"That was when we were six! And besides, I don't feel that way about her. Anymore, at least."

"And what stopped these sudden flow of emotions, may I ask?" he said slyly.

Endon turned his head, because he didn't want his brother to see his flushed face. "Shut up and eat your sandwich!" and didn't speak till they got home.

Naturally, when they did get home, Jasmine had already found out about their escapade.

"What were you two thinking!?" she yelled, pacing in front of them, her black hair raised slightly in a frenzy. "It's enough that rolling the barrel could have hit someone, or knocked something over, and made a mess, or, or… something, but you got _inside_ the barrel? Why? A dare, a… a self doubt that what you've already done isn't dangerous enough?"

Endon made to speak, but Jasmine and her quick mouth didn't give him a chance, "And you lied to your father about going somewhere to learn something. Why?"

For a moment, Jarred and Endon didn't speak, Jarred because he was sure whatever he said, he'd get reprimanded for it, and Endon, because he wasn't sure if his mother would say something else.

When she didn't, he spoke. "Well, we learned to never go barrel rolling again, and that it's good to be prepared, like Alex is, all the time.

Jasmine looked as if she were to yell at them once again, but refrained with a sigh. "Just… just pack your stuff, okay?"

"Okay, mom," Jarred said, sighing also, with relief. "By the way, where's dad?"

"Out," Jasmine said, and before Jarred could ask where "Out" was, Anna came barging into the room, giving a glare to Jarred.

"Did you let your stupid bird into my room to claw my second favorite blouse!?"

Jarred looked aghast. "What?"

Anna held up the shirt that was decorated with flowers, a hand-me-down, from Jasmine. It had a humongous tear along the front.

"There's no possible way Aveen could have done that. Even if she had, there would be multiple scratch marks, because she has multiple talons. Besides, Aveen is from the wild, not wild herself. She's not crazy enough to tear _your_ shirt. She'd have better luck in Theagen's lair."

"Then who did it? Was it one of you two?"

"Didn't you hear him?" Endon said. "Aveen isn't crazy enough to tear your shirt, and neither are we."

"Well you guys are crazy enough to get inside of a rolling barrel!" Jasmine commented. "It doesn't matter. Just… go to your rooms, the both of you." She pointed to Endon and Jarred. "The original Endon and Jarred were trouble makers, but not as crazy as you two are."

"Hm, are you going to put it on the list?" Endon asked.

"Yes, she's going to put it on the list!" Anna yelled exasperated. She stormed off, and Endon and Jarred warily followed.

 _A little while earlier…_

The man crawled through the now open window, and clambered silently on the neatly made bed that was of a girl. Perfect. This was where master had told him to go.

He closed the window, climbed off the bed, remade it, and traversed around the room. It was neatly made, and he had watched the occupant make it this neat before she had left.

The room had a dresser, and a small trunk beside it, colored a sharp purple. He hastily pulled each drawer open, making sure he did not hit himself again with the new blades tipped on his forearm added to his attire. All the drawers were empty, and not a grain of dust remained.

He made to check the closet, but heard a noise outside. He clambered to the closet quickly, and crouched down – but the blade on his elbow caught onto one shirt that hung there, and he drew an immense tear in it. None the less, he hid.

A man with blonde hair, and a pointed beard at the end of his chin barged into the room.

He gazed around quickly, and without leaving the room, he called behind him. "Jasmine, where is Anna?"

"Buying jewelry for the ceremony tomorrow," a voice answered. "Why?"

The man didn't answer. He moved his belt and looked at the belt beneath it – a chain one carrying seven gems. The hiding man could feel his skin singeing at the near sight of it.

The man's hand moved to the one second farthest to the left, and second farthest to the right, a red and green gem, both of which, seemed unnaturally pale.

"Jasmine, they're pale, both are pale."

The other voice didn't answer for a moment. "What will you do, Lief?"

"I'm going out. I'm going to find whatever it is. 23 years it's been since they paled. My sword is still in our room?"

"Yes, dear. I'm coming too."

"No, you can't."

"Lief if you think I'm going to let you go out there by yourself-"

"We have the children to think about. You have to reassure them. If they come home, and no one's here, what'll they think?"

"That were out to market," she responded.

Lief turned away from the room completely. "We're royalty, Jasmine, living in a home like the rest of our people. What will they think, honestly?"

Jasmine sighed in reply. "Alright. But be careful," she said. "Or I shall make sure you're careful myself."

Lief smiled. "Okay," he said, and left the room door open.

The man was left no choice. If the king came back by chance, with him searching the room, he was as good as dead. He could not close the door, as a result of alerting attention to himself, and then the whole plot would be revealed. He would be lucky if it hadn't been already.

He crawled out, glanced at the trunk, climbed on the bed, opened the window, closed it, and left.

 **That's the** **story so far, hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I kind of sort of portrayed Endon, Jarred, and Anna as my kind of family. I'm the eldest of four siblings. I, quote "Am usually angry round my brothers for any and every reason," according to my friend. Well, I'm not a girl, but, I'm the oldest, so I can see older siblings separated by only a few years should usually not get along, and seem to without seeming to, pick fights. Endon and Jarred, I kind of gave the Fred and George personality – trouble makers. Causing trouble since the day they were born, after twelve years, they have intensified they're game, to explain why they're that extreme.**

 **After them, Jasmine and Lief… Jasmine I wanna say is an easily pissed but level minded parent. Lief on the other hand, trusts his kids to make smart decisions – which they don't. He kind of expects them to learn for themselves.**

 **For other characters… never mind, I'm droning on here. I'll introduce a lot more Original Characters, and some that are from the previous books. Next chapter, all I can say is, all hell breaks loose. Hope you look forward to it,**

 **Dragnov.**


	4. Chapter 2: The Ceremony, and Then Some

**Yullo, reader or other. I'm having a bit of computer trouble, at the moment, and it seems my autocorrect, and my internet isn't working all the time. I'm lucky I've got minutes to spare to post this. If I made any mistakes throughout the chapter, ignore them, or tell me about them, whichever suits you. Well, here it is, and stuff.**

Chapter 2

The Ceremony, the Feast, and the Problem

Jarred glanced out of the carriage they were riding. Did it have to be so cramped? Was his simple attire suitable for a prince? Would it be difficult, living in the castle? Did Anna have to keep waving and smiling like an idiot to the passersby?

Of course, the answer to all of the question's that had flown through Jarred's mind in a second, was no. But that didn't stop the questions from surfacing. The carriage was, in his opinion, a bit overkill. It was carved in rich colored oak, and the seats on the inside were soft and comfortable. On the outside, it was almost too bright to look at, and the brown stallion that pulled it looked in its prime.

Jasmine was grumbling angrily about the overkill decoration as well, to Lief, across from Jarred, who was sighing as he listened. Jarred was on a window side of the carriage, and Endon sat in the middle, who was, for some strange reason, silent.

Or so he thought. Endon quickly started speaking to his father.

"So what are we doing," he asked, "for the ceremony thingy?"

"We went over this more than a dozen times, Endon," Anna complained.

"Well," Lief said. "You were all born in the palace, but didn't stay in it for more than 5 days – we then moved to the forge, because your mother wanted you to appreciate life away from the castle, as well as in it. Since you don't remember ever being inside the palace, when we reach it, there will be a ceremony, where you will each receive a gift, so that it may recognize you. Then afterwards, you all will be introduced to the belt of Deltora, and the day after, visit the graves of legends behind the castle. Then, Barda will show you around, and you can explore, but then you go to sleep. Understood?"

"Okay," Endon said. He then turned to Jarred. "What's the first stunt we're going to pull?"

"Um, something small first," Jarred said. "We don't want to do anything big after yesterday, so how about…" Thoughts crossed through his mind once more, and he found one that appealed to him. "Kitchen raiding."

"True," Endon agreed. "But kitchen raiding? We did that when we were 4."

"Yeah, we did that in mom's kitchen, Not the palace kitchen," Jarred grinned. Not too serious, but still a juicy catch.

The horse's droppings could be scented through the sides of the carriage, an inconvenience. Jarred didn't mind though. It didn't hurt him, so what point was it to worry about it?

The clip clopping of the horses hooves, however, irritated him, his ears. An inconsistent pattern in his neatly organized mind aggravated him greatly.

"Are we almost there, dad?" he asked.

Lief poked his head out the side of the carriage. "I can still see the forge," he said.

Jarred sighed. He still had a long way to go. He recalled the paintings Katrina had shown him the previous day, and then thought of the painting materials in his own trunk. She appeared to paint whatever she saw. He painted according to his mood. He was board, and wished he could paint then and there, but he knew he couldn't.

He had nothing better to do, so he rested his arm on the opening of the carriage, settled his face as comfortably as possible, and slept.

I

"Jarred!"

Jarred's head shot up, and hit the top of something. Damn! The roof of the forge was not that close to his bed, surely.

Wait… today they were supposed to… oh. Oh.

He peeled his eyes open slowly, and found Endon staring at him, his hand on his shoulder, slowly shaking him. He was on the outside of the carriage. "We're here," he said.

Endon sighed, rubbed the forming lump beneath his gray black hair, and climbed from the now empty carriage. The palace lay before him, through the open gates of the wall, that separated it off from the rest of Del.

It was a sight, the sheer size of it overwhelming. And the fact that it would be Jarred's home was astonishing. Atop a lush green hill, the castles stone base alone could have been a fortress, with a heavy and sturdy looking wooden gate, and above it, the castles second floor was just as sturdy, but appeared to be accompanied by regular and stain glass windows, and above that, turrets and overhangs jutted up with no other walls but the ones of their own.

They were not there yet, at the palace, and Endon answered the question before it came from his mouth. "Mom convinced dad that we need to at least walk part of the way, not be lazy, get some fresh air, and away from that horse dung.

Jarred cracked a smile. "Finally. I think my legs need the stretching. It was so cramped in there!"

"Try being me, the middle seated. I feel like that time you dared me to try and fit myself through the blacksmith's, and uncle Barda's."

They began to traverse up the hill, after Anna, and their parents. The horse had been set in the stable at the bottom of the hill, along with the carriage, so they did not have to worry about the scent of poop wafting through the air.

It pleased Jarred that as soon as he was halfway up the hill, enjoying the quiet breeze, and the flower-scented aroma, that a blackbird landed on his shoulder, and the blue streak across its wing told him that it was Aveen.

She tweeted softly in his ear, and Jarred could only listen, but not understand. Jarred ruffled her feathers and she playfully nipped his ear. Then, she flew off, up into one of the turrets.

"I can smell the kitchen already," Endon said excitedly. Surprisingly, from the 100 yards that they were from the palace, Jarred could also smell an abundant amount of food. His mouth watered. He made sure to think of the bountiful raid they'd get, all the way to the wooden gate. When they reached it, the doors opened without question, and Jasmine and Lief made sure that their three children where inside before calling for the guards inside to close the gate.

On the inside, the palace had marble floor, and pillars holding up the second floor, which were decorated with different colored spots. Wait, spots? No, as the gate creaked shut, the spots disappeared, for the outside light no longer reflected upon it. Where the spots originated from, however, didn't. On the roof of the first floor, Jarred saw for the first time, the work of Withick, the greatest artist Deltora had ever seen. He gawked in awe, and saw why he had been given the title. The paintings upon the roof seemed so lifelike, so real, that he almost thought some of them were actual things that he could physically walk into.

There was one of the palace, before its completion, with Raladins working on it, with vigor. Another, was of the forest similar to Katrina's, but… better. Jarred gazed at the scene above him for so long, he actually walked into one of the pillars, and fell back.

Endon laughed, and helped him up. Jarred kept his head down after that, and looked at the paintings on the wall. There were only the heirs of Adin. He looked at them, and read the names beneath; Adin himself, Edward, Elstred, Adina, Brandon, Lucan, Gareth, Lilia, Alton, Endon-

"Hey, it's me!" Endon said, walking toward the painting of the previous king, since the painting after was the last one.

The man there looked like Lief, but his hair was far darker, and he appeared much older. The tip of the beard he had on his chin was wrapped in a gold bind, and his crown was curled in and around his hair.

"He doesn't look like a king," Endon said.

"He does, a lot."

"No, not me, Dad," he said. "Look at it."

Jarred looked at the next painting and was surprised. The person there looked almost exactly like Endon, but older by about 5 or 6 years, and his hair was natural blonde, not a darkened kind like Endon's. His blonde hair was messy and unkempt, and the grin that he and Endon flashed were all but the same.

Truth be told, he did not look like a king, but the robes he wore and the painting he was on countered that thought. Under the painting, the name 'Lief' was there.

"That looks nothing like dad, either," Jarred said. "I imagine when we settle in after a few days, he'll start to look like a king again. Well, not again, but… you know." Then Jarred noticed something in the side of the painting. A crack, but not a crack. It was more… deliberate, he should say. He made to touch it, but was called back.

"Endon, Jarred, hurry, or you'll be left behind. The ceremony will start soon." The twins heeded their fathers call, and hurried after them up the first flight of stairs. The second floor was as pristine as the first, and the beige walls shined slightly in the light of the chandeliers that hung on the roof of the hallway.

"Well," a woman said as she came from down the stairs that lead up to the third floor. "I finally get to see you after all this time," she said, glancing at the three children, then at Jasmine, then to Lief. "You sure took a long while to get here. Sharn is doing her best, but she has grown accustomed to cooking. I think she'll be glad of finally being relieved of queen."

The woman was about the same height as their mother, and they looked vaguely similar. Her hair was as black as Jasmine's, but her face was much paler. She did appear youthful, all the same, and the dark eyes behind the half rim glasses were giving off a warm feeling. She wore a simple brown tunic, along with a skirt that went past her knees.

"Hm, I suppose you don't recognize me," she said, and bent down so she was head level with Jarred and Endon. "I'm your cousin Marilen. Or you could call me your aunt, I suppose. You know, I'm actually not sure…"

"Mother!" Another person came down the stairs hefting at least ten books as he went. This man had what appeared to be a strong build, and was wearing similar clothes to Marilen. As he peered around the tower of books, Jarred caught black straight hair, sharp brown eyes, and pale skin.

"Where do I put these?"

"What are they?" Marilen asked.

"Um, they're… the one about the caves?"

"Harriet's Tunnel Tales, put them in the adventure section of children's books, Josef."

"Hello, Lief, Jasmine, kids," Josef grunted, climbing back up the stairs.

"Anyway," Marilen said. "Lief. Ranesh has been looking for you."

Lief cocked his head. "Why?"

"He had to get you ready for the ceremony later today, prepare and arrange it. You have to let him dress you."

"I can do that," Lief complained, "I've been doing it for fifteen years."

"Well, do you have any clothes ready for the occasion?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Do you even know what to wear for this kind of thing?"

"No," Lief groaned. "I'll go find Ranesh." Lief trudged away.

"Jasmine," Marilen then said. "I need a ladies eye on the two of them. Could you?"

Jasmine grinned mischievously. "Just like the good old days," she said. "Watch the kids?"

"Oh, I need to get them to their rooms anyways."

The queen hurried after Lief, leaving the three with Marilen. "Who's Ranesh?" Endon asked.

"Oh, the royal advisor, and my husband I might add," she said with a wink.

"You're the librarian, right?" Jarred said. "I've read the Tales of Deltora, and you're in them. You used to be the heir to the throne if dad died, right?"

"Used to be," Marilen said. "Glad I'm not, though. That'll be Anna's responsibility now."

"Looking forward to it," Anna said.

"Anyway, let's show you each to your rooms," Marilen said. She led them down the opposite direction their parents had taken, and were lead down different hallways, so many, that if Marilen wasn't leading them, they would have gotten lost a long time ago. Finally, they reached the rooms, which were ironically side-by-side. However, there were only two. The first door, on the inside was grand, and open spaced.  
"Jarred, Endon, you guys don't mind sharing a room, do you?"  
"This is a room for just _two_ people?" Endon gawked. It was a large room, the walls painted a smooth blue. The two beds that were across from each other, and to the east and west sides of the room were large, with a headboard at least 5 and a half feet high. The beds were made, and looked soft and marshmallow-y. Sunlight shafted through the two windows at the back of the room.

The rest of the room was empty, ready for decoration.

"No," Endon and Jarred said at the same time.

I

Jarred finally fell on his back, squeezing the mattress beneath him. The bed still bucked up and down from the bouncing he had been doing for the past half hour.

"This will be the good life," he said, sighing deeply. The bed seemed to curl around his form, cushioning him, and enveloping him in warm softness.

"Yep," Endon agreed. He had not had his fill of high bouncing. Jarred and Endon hadn't even started unpacking, even though they had been instructed to. Jarred didn't know how long it would be until the ceremony started, but Marilen had said to get comfortable. Worrying about a ceremony wouldn't do so.

So, he clambered off the bed, and opened his trunk. The first thing he pulled out was his folded easel, his brushes, his paints, and a sheet of paper. His mind was calm, and lucid. He was in a freestyle state, and so he took his brush, picked a random color – yellow – closed his eyes, and began to paint.

His mind was telling him, swirls. Smooth, but solid swirls, that fit into his emotions, and that's what he did. He sat there, on the floor, painting with his eyes closed, dipping back into the yellow, or another color, and painting with his sense of touch, not his sight.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and opened his eyes. Endon was looking at the painting.

"What is it?"

"What do you think it is," Jarred asked sincerely.

"The sun, turning into a river."

It was true, that was what it looked like. The yellow he had started with had swirled in the top left of the page, and was accompanied by an orange and stray green, that accented its tips. Then, blues and light purples came out of those swirls, looking amazing, while still leaving most of the page blank.

"I don't get how you do that," Endon said, amazed. "Did you paint with your eyes closed again?" Jarred simply nodded.

"Amazing what you can do without seeing."

Jarred jumped forward, crashing into the easel, and sendind the painting toppling. His elbow and part of his forearm smudged the paint, but it didn't do it so much as to ruin it.

Jarred turned to see a man, lying across his bed, and leaning to face him. His hair was gray, and a long scar accented his cheek. His eyes were a deep brown, his skin tanned. He smiled warmly when he saw the surprise on Jarred and Endon's face.

"Grandpa, at least make some noise when you come to see us. You scare us half to death every time!" Endon groaned. "We never know you're there till you say something behind us."

"Hello to you too, Endon. How are you Jarred. Well?"

"Well enough," Jarred said, sighing with relief.

"As for surprising you, it's habit. Sorry though."

"What are you even doing here," Jarred asked. "I thought mother said you were out traveling."

"I was, and still am," Doom responded. "I just happen to be traveling back here. Don't think I won't be missing out on this ceremony."

Jarred smiled. "Are you giving us any gifts?"

"Each of you gets one gift, from a selected person. I just happen to be giving you a gift, Jarred."

"What is it?" Jarred asked.

"You'll see," Doom smiled.

"Who's giving me my gift?" Endon asked.

"You're grandmother, I believe," Doom said. He stood from the bed. "I had no idea you were so adept at painting, Jarred."

Jarred grinned. "It's a hobby."

"So, what is it that you'll be taking from the kitchen?"

"How do you know about that?" Jarred asked.

"Apparently, you two are quite the idiotic trouble makers. If I were you that is the first thing I'd do."

"Hm," Endon said. "I think we'll see when we get there, won't we?"

"Speaking of trouble, your mother sent me to make sure you weren't causing any. And to get you dressed for the ceremony."

"Like we didn't see that coming," Jarred said.

I

They were walking down an aisle, in a chapel, in a straight line, Anna in front, Jarred following, and then Endon. It was awkward, them all holding white little piece of cloth, and keeping their eyes forward, while everyone else's were on them.

They stopped at the edge of the alter, Anna pausing before climbing to the top, and turning to the people watching them intently.

Jarred felt unbearably uncomfortable in the robe he had been forced to were, that made him seem like royalty. He liked the intent, but disliked the outcome. He stood to the left of Anna, while Endon stood to the right, looking just as, or more so, tense.

A man with long and forcibly straightened black hair walked up and stood behind them. Jarred noticed he resembled Josef, and assumed this was the royal advisor, Ranesh.

"We are gathered here today," he began, and Jarred felt the sick feeling as if he were in a wedding, "to welcome the children of king Lief, and Queen Jasmine, the heirs to Adin, into the castle. The were brought up, like our king, in the forge that belonged to former king Endon, and have entered today, to live and grow up, for days to come, in the castle walls. Give a welcoming hand, to Princes Endon and Jarred, and Princess Anna."

The crowd clapped warmly, and from the corner of his eye, Jarred saw Endon scowl, most likely at the fact he'd been called 'Prince Endon.' Jarred also would have, but he wanted to be more polite.

Ranesh went on to make a speech about the trouble the Shadow Lord had caused Deltora, the obstacles that they'd over come, and how the royal family would thrive, and that if Deltora had a strong leader, Deltora would be a strong people. As he finished, the crowd that had assembled clapped heartily.

"Now, with a great honor, I say that we shall award the heirs of Adin, with gifts. First, let us award Princess Anna."

Someone immediately rose from the crowd, and at first, Jarred thought it was a giant. But it was simply Lindal, who had something cupped in her hands, hidden from view. Jarred saw, that where she had been sitting, Rodan, Abby, Alex, Barry, Luke, and Katrina were also sitting. As his eyes scanned the rest of the crowd, at the entrance to the chapel, he saw Barda guarding the doors, along with another guard, who was smiling warmly.

Lindal knelt before Anna, and awarded her a bracelet, which had gold, silver, and wood, intertwining into one single coil. "I Give you, Princess Anna, a bracelet I have hand crafted, that will bring you luck throughout your life, as long as you where it."

More clapping was what Jarred absentmindedly heard. His eyes were focused as Lindal placed the bracelet on the cloth Anna held, and headed back to her seat.

"Now, Prince Jarred," Ranesh said. From the chapel doors, Doom entered, holding something in his hand, and walking with a determined look on his face. He knelt before Jarred, who was not at all comfortable with what was happening.

"I give you, Prince Jarred, the dagger I have crafted, and used, for most of my life since the time I have left Del, in place of King Endon. Use it well, and wisely." A rather large dagger was placed in the cloth, with a red hilt. The blade was rather long, but still short enough to be called a dagger, and not a short sword. He tested it on his finger. Sharp, and thin.

Doom returned, to take a seat at the front of the chapel.

"And finally, Prince Endon." Again, Endon scowled when his name and prince were simply a space away from each other. Sharn stood from the seating, traversed up to the altar, and knelt before Endon. "I give you, Prince Endon, this." She carefully placed something in Endon's cloth, and closed his hands over it, hiding it from view. "It shall bring you protection when need be, and will warm you when cold. Use it carefully. Before leaving, she stood, and whispered something in Endon's ear. His eyes widened, Sharn smiled, and she walked back to the seating.

Jarred's mind burned with curiosity as Endon gripped his gift tightly. Ranesh clapped his hands together with a toothy smile.

"It is now time, for us to introduce, the belt of Deltora to Princess Anna, our future queen." Jarred could not resist to turn back to where his father sat, and watched him rise from his seat.

He stepped to the bottom of the alter, and removed the brown leather belt that was around his waist. Jarred watched as he took one end, and reached into the pocket that it was. He slowly pulled out a shining chain belt, holding seven glinting gems, and laid it across both hands.

Jarred's skin tingled at the mere sight of the belt, and he recognized each; The Amethyst, the Ruby, the Opal, the Topaz, the Lapis Lazuli, the Emerald, and the Diamond.

Lief held it before Anna, who gazed proudly at it. She whispered something, and placed her hand upon it, despite the pressing silence.

Without warning, all of the gems glowed to a bright state, making the lights overhead seem extremely dim. Jarred almost averted his eyes, but decided he did not want to miss a moment. The gems then receded back to their regular state.

All except for two, who went far past that. The ruby, and the Emerald were pale. Unnaturally pale. Jarred tried to recall what that meant, as Ranesh said, "The belt recognizes our future queen. Let her hand guide us to fortune!" Applause broke out, and Lief slipped the belt back into the pocket belt, that of which he slipped back over his waist.

"Now, let us go to the banquet hall, where we may enjoy a celebratory feast!" Ranesh said, with a smile.

I

Jarred could not believe his mouth, when he bit into the food that was served to him, at the head of the banquet hall where he, Endon, Anna, Lief, Jasmine, Doom, and Sharn sat. The meat was unbelievably juicy, and tasty, along with the potatoes, and warm lush bread that was served with it.

"Are you enjoying your food?" Jasmine asked, leaning down beside him.

"The fruits a bit dryer then what I'm used to," Jarred commented, "But otherwise, it's really good."

"I'm glad to hear," Jasmine said. "I'm not sure if you'll like it here, at the castle, but you'll have plenty of adventures, and I hope, a good birthday," She said.

"Oh, I almost forgot today was my birthday," Jarred said. He would have continued speaking, but paused instead, as a thin boy, around the age of 16, ran up to the table. Jarred glanced at him as he began to speak quickly with Lief, who was on the other side of Jasmine.

"King Lief," the boy said. "I was sent by Doom. We have a problem."

"Yes, Amilo?" Lief said.

"Um, we've been looking into the request you made, and have found nothing so far," Amilo said. "But we've received messages around Deltora. The livestock we're raking in has risen beyond levels we never thought they would."

"Is this not good news?" Lief asked.

"Yes, but the dragon numbers have recently been increasing. The livestock numbers should slowly be diminishing until we have a defined population number, which we do not have quite yet."

"Strange," Lief agreed. "I shall look into it myself, after the banquet."

"Of course," Amilo said. He quickly scampered back the way he came.

"What is happening?" Lief wondered aloud. Jarred wondered the same thing. He carefully gripped the dagger he had sheathed at his side, the sheath and belt something else grandfather had given him.

He turned to Endon, who was eating hungrily. "What did you get?" Jarred asked. "I mean, uh, what was your gift?"

Endon lifted his head slowly. "I'll tell you when we start our raid."

Jarred was not the one for waiting, unless he had something to do. Apparently, something was weird around Deltora, something that he himself could not look into. He usually would not worry about it, but he was now, officially, a prince. He could not assess the variables when he'd only been in the castle a couple of hours. And his brother had some secret… _thing,_ that he wouldn't talk about. He had many choices to pick from, but so many seemed insufficient, or dangerous.

He simply decided to munch on the fruit he had complained about just a moment ago.

 **Hey again. Um, I actually have to make things a bit clearer. Um, the work, and the story line, the description, all comes from reading all the time. I'm just 13. So, again, don't mind the mistakes in the story. Speaking of mistakes, I'm actually looking for a Beta. If anyone has the time and the talent, type a review, and add an email. I've had a couple of reviews so far, and someone offered to beta, but his email got cut out. I'll check if it's something with my computer, or the account itself, and if it still happens, I'll give you my email.**

 **Okay… um, now that I've gotten that across, I want to say, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, and if you are, leave a review, favorite, follow, any of that, too. Thanks for reading,**

 **Dragnov.**


	5. Chapter 3: The Topaz Sword

**I'm sorry, I lied, it took more than a day to get this out. I finally finished, and more chapters will be produced faster… hopefully. Anyway, enjoy.**

 **WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER BELOW CONTAINS VIOLENT CONTENT NOT RECOMMENDED FOR KIDS. ITS NOT EXTREME EXTREME LIKE GUTS EVERYWHERE, BUT ITS PRETTY VIOLENT. AND AFTER READING THIS YOU AS WELL MIGHT BECOME VIOLENT. BE WARNED…** **:P**

Chapter 3

The Topaz Sword

It was night, the stars twinkling as tiny specks of light in the sky against the shining moon. Jarred glanced at Endon. "Now?" Endon asked.

"Tell me what you got first," Jarred said.

"Okay, I wanna go there first, anyway," Endon said.

"Where?" Jarred asked.

"Well," Endon said. He leaned over the side of his bed, and pulled something from beneath it. It was a brass key, with an intricate pattern traced on it. "I got this. Gran said that on the first floor, down in the chapel, in a room, theres a case. In there, she said she saved something for me."

"What is it?" Jarred asked.

"She didn't say," Endon said. "That's what I want to find out."

"Okay, lets go then."

They crawled from their respective beds, and slipped on their sandals. Jarred tightened his belt, and sheathed dagger around him. They edged the door open slightly, Jarred looking both ways, before beckoning Endon, and heading out. They ran down the hallway, quickly, and reached the stairwell, before Endon pulled Jarred back, and into an open doorway, and closing it.

Through the slit between the door and the hinges, they watched Josef carry a large stack of books up the library stairs, muttering something. They almost ran back out, before a book came tumbling down the stairs. He muttered something again, seting the stack he had down, going back down the stairs, and bringing it back up to the library.

The twins smiled, before running down the stairs, quickly and quietly. Jarred paused for a moment, trying to recall the direction to the Chapel. He finally headed into the hall, beside the paintings of the rulers of Deltora, and sighed with relief as he stepped down the familiar steps of the chapel entrance. Endon did the honor of pushing through the doors, and shutting them behind him.

"Where's the room?" Jarred asked

"I dunno," Endon said. "She just told me a – wait, it's there, on the other side of the alter."

He pointed to a small hallway next to the alter on which they had previously stood. Jarred quickly ran to the hall, followed by Endon.

On the inside, they saw several pedistals, encased by glass, secured with three locks, each. On the inside several objects lay, with names, and words.

"Memorials," Endon said. Jarred leaned over one, where a bag with a rope around it. Beside it was a strange flower, and several snipets of grass that Jarred recognized as long dried out herbs. It said, "To Glock, one of the bravest Jalises known to Deltora," Jasmine.

"Who do you think this, "Josef" is?" Endon asked.

"He used to be the Librarian. He died in the last battle against the Shadow Lord."

"It says here, "To Josef, a smart and wonderous person, and a loving father," Ranesh." Endon said.

"That raises some questions." Jarred said. "But we're getting off topic. What are we looking for?"

"Um, I think… that one," Endon said. He went to a pedistal, and tried all three locks, to no avail.

Jared leaned against one pedistal, and felt his arm roll on something. "Wait, give me the key," Jared said. Endon handed it to him, and he glanced at the pattern on the key. He then ran his hand over the pedistal. There was a similar pattern, but not the same. He then went to a different pedistal, and ran his finger over it. Different pattern once more. "I think… the key has to have the same pattern as the pedistal." He ran his finger over a third pedistal. "This one," He said.

Endon rushed over, and took the key from Jarred. He quickly inserted the key into each slot and turned. The case made a popping noise as it was released. "Its… a cloak."

The cloak was shades of all different colors, like red, blue, green, purple, brown, black, and white. "It's colorful, but I don't think I like it. You have it."

Jarred took the cloak. He wrapped it around him, and saw as most of it hung over to the floor. "How do I look?" He asked.

"How do you look? How am I supposed to look at you?" He said, gawking.

"C'mon, it can't be that bad," Jarred said. But he looked down at himself – and saw nothing. "What in the-"

"You're invisible!"

"I'm Invisible!"

"I'll have that," Endon said, snatching it back from him.

Jarred smiled. "Yeah. You keep it." He fingered his dagger. "I've got something way cooler."

They closed and locked the case, and Jarred noticed that this was not a memorial like the others. There were no words of leave to read. Ignoring this, they scurried out of the Chapel, and snuck down the halls.

"Where's the kitchen again?" Endon asked, trying to adjust the cloak around him.

"Just sniff. Remember, we smelled it from _outside_ earlier today."

True enough, the scent could be smelled from where they were. Apparently, the cooks were still at work. They sniffed every minute, trying to pinpoint the source of the smell.

As they entered the Banquet Hall, the smell overwhelmed them completely, so at first they could not pinpoint the smell, but they aimlessly walked in a certain direction, and noticed it getting stronger in their nostrils.

Endon finally found a hallway sectioned off by a door, that would most likely lead them to the kitchen. "Wait," Endon whispered. He lifted up a section of the cloak. "C'mon. if this is our first time with this thing, I think both of us should use it."

Jarred grinned, and quickly clambered under the cloak. There was so much room, the cloak still dragged behind him. They entered the room, and quickly looked around.

"It's another hall… wait, never mind," Jarred said. "I can see the kitchen." Endon moved forward, but tripped over, since the cloak tipped forward, and that happened because Jarred hadn't moved. The cloak fell off of Jarred, but not before pulling over his head, and knocking him forward.

Endon groaned as Jarred held the side of the head that had knocked against the floor.

"Let's try that again," Jarred said. They lifted the cloak back over each other, and quickly learned to communicate movement under the cloak quickly, and learned to manuver without tripping over each other's feet.

When they managed to get the hang of it, they signaled to one another silently that they were ready to raid. They crept as silently as possible into the kitchen, which thankfully had no doors to open. No wonder the scent left the kitchen so easily.

Three women were still there at the kitchen, each making… something, seperately.

"-and he ran around the castle, as bare as that old apple tree," said one, with curly red hair, a plump face, and a happy smile. Another one buckled over and laughed, harder than Jarred thought anyone could. Sharn was also there, working away at the dough in front of her with a rolling pin. Silent.

"Oh, c'mon Sharn, you have to admit it was pretty funny," The first woman said, chuckling at the memory.

"It was, Ella," Sharn said simply.

"Now hold on a minute, if it was funny, why didn't you laugh?" Ella asked. "Lia is laughing tons."

The other lady, apparently Lia, who had straight, short brown hair, and a lean thin body, was still trying to hold herself up and catch her breath.

Sharn made a sheepish grin. "I still have things to make, don't I? I assume you do too?"

Ella gave a real grin, and turned back to the counter. "Nope. I finished making all twe- wait…" she silently counted the rolls there in front of her. "I could of swore…"

"What's the matter?" Sharn asked.

"I'm missing two rolls," Ella said. She scratched her head. "I guess I'll need to make them, again."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Sharn said. "I'll make them."

"No can do," Ella said. "I can't do that. That'd be extremely rude of me. I can do it, no worries."

"Hm, but the both of you need to go home, and I'm quite sure that you don't live near here. The later it gets, the more dangerous it'll be. Besides, I'm making rolls myself. It won't take long."

Lia finally stood, catching her breath. "I'll help," she offered, in a high pitch voice.

"Oh it's quite all right," Sharn declined.

"Are you sure?" Ella asked. "I don't mind doing them again."

"It'll be fine," Sharn said. "I'll do them. It's ok."

"Then we'll be off, your majesty," Ella says, before heading through the doorway, Lia almost starting a laughing fit once more. Sharn grinned slightly, and set to work.

Jarred quickly surveyed the area. The kitchen was fairly large. He quickly stuffed his roll in his mouth, and then beckoned to Endon to go down to the other end, when-

"Endon, Jarred, come here the both of you."

Jarred stood rigid, and Endon, who was in a tipped position, and had he moved any further, he would have toppled over Jarred.

"I know your there, I can see the cloak," Sharn said.

Jarred made to takke off the cloak, and that tiny movement made Endon fall. Jarred groaned slightly as he struggled to escape the heavy mass.

Through thick tumbling, they managed to present themselves to there grandmother.

"What was the one and only rule that you were given?" she asked.

"Don't wander around the castle at night," both Endon and Jarred droned.

"And why?"

"Because we could get lost, kidnapped, or trapped."

"And…" Sharn sighed. "I suppose that based upon your behavior recently, I knew you'd break it. I was actually coming up to surprise you as soon as I finished here."

"With what?" Endon asked.

"These," Sharn said, holding out two vanilla cupcakes topped with purple frosting and a strawberry, each. Endon and Jarred both gawked. "And I suppose… if you promise… not to get caught the next time, I could give them to you."

The twins turned to one another, grinned, and nodded. Sharn handed them the cupcakes, kissed both of their forheads, and said, "Happy Birthday you two. Now, off you go. And a tip. Don't move so much. When still you appear see through, but when moving, the air seems to waver. Use it with care."

Endon and Jarred quickly put the cloak back on, and escaped the kitchen. Endon quickly dove his face into the cupcake as they moved. Jarred however, only stared at it. As they reached the entrance hall. He came from the cover of the cloak, and sat before the painting of Adin.

"I wonder if he liked living in the castle," he thought aloud.

Endon sat beside him and looked at the painting of their great, great, … well you know. "Maybe. I don't think mom liked being in the castle though. Maybe not dad either. But I still feel… I don't know… weird. It's like tasting the same food for most of you life, and tasting another version. It's not bad, but… you still don't like it. Yet, I guess."

Jarred gawked at his brother. There was no way Endon could have said that. Well anything is possible. They looked around at the castle. "I think we should go to sleep. Barda's leading us around the castle tommorow, remember? I don't want to fall asleep halfway through it."

"I guess your-"

And just like that, the door came flying at them, knocking half of the stairway away, and nearly slamming Jarred directly in the face. At the doorway, stood nine people. Well, eight people, and a man with a humongous body and a horn, who was brushing off splinters from its face, with thick meaty fingers, that were becoming… regular sized fingers.

Jarred watched in pure amazement as the beastly creature shrank to the size of a still rather large man. He was in a gray tunic, and Black leggings, wearing a metal visor that concealed his face, but did not conceal his grin. The other 6 beside him wore the same atttire, and he, as well as 3 others held swords, two held 2 daggers each, and 1 of them held nothing.

"Mmm… it feels good to smash through things," said the shapeshifting one. Jarred cringed when he heard the snap of his neck as he cranKed it around.

"And I smell… blood…" one of them said, leaning forward and catching the eyes of Jarred and Endon. Endon gripped the cloak. "Aren't they the ones? Can I eat them?"

"Shut up 6!" another said.

The one with no weapon glanced at him. When it spoke the voice could be determinde to be female. "We have orders to kill them. How you do it, I don't care."

"But what about the plan, 1? 4 and 8 are still up there," said one with a dagger.

"They'll have to get the girl then, 7. Just kill them," 1 said, nonchalantly.

"Run," Jarred said, and began a dash up what was left of the stairwell. Endon quickly followed. Jarred had never been more terrified in his life. What were these things? Why were the trying to kill him, and his siblings? And why did they have to come now?

Endon yelped. 6 had him by the foot, and started crawling over him. As Jarred glanced back in terror, he could see humongous jaws ready to rip his brother apart, as well as claws digging into the stone stairwell and Endon's flesh. Instinct took over.

Jarred unsheathed the dagger at his waist, and quickly drew it across the side of the assilant. Instead of blood, a thick gray liquid spurted out of the wound, and 6 fell off the stairwell on the side that had been blown away. Endon groaned at the wound that had been clawed on his left leg. "Nice one," he grimaced.

"Never mind that, we have to go! Now!" He hefted Endon up, and began to half carry Endon to there room, as fast as possible.

The Gren's hand ached. It's monkey like climbing ability's had never tried to grip this rough sandstone before, and the constant scratching had left his hands a bloody mess. The other Gren however, had hard lizard like skin, that did not seem to be scratched at all. Her lithe body was already perched upon the windowsill of the room on the second floor.

The first Gren, called 4, was half polypan. He was saved by the Shadow lord, and was forever in his debt. After years of fruitful training, he had been told to kill the children of the king, capture the king, and do whatever to anyone else. 1 had organized it so that she, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9, would be a diversion, and that he and 8, would assasinate the children.

When 4 finally clambered up to the sill, 8 glanced at him impatiently. "Hurry up and open it, already!" she said, tapping the window slightly.

"Do you want to wake up the children? Don't tap the window!" 4 quickly attempted to make a make-shift bandage with a rip of his tunic, and then proceded to do what the polypan in him did best – break into places. His fingers easily guided through the reinforced lock of the window, and it snapped open.

4 and 8 quickly crawl inside, 4 crawling to the first bed, and 8 crawling to the second. 8 unleashed her fangs and quickly bit into the pillow. She spit out a ball of wet feathers. "He's not here," she stated.

4 turned to 8 with nonchalant eyes. "Neither is the other one."

8's head quickly upturned into the air, flicked out her tongue to catch it on a fly, and wrap it into her mouth, swallowing. 8 retreated to her human form and spat. "It tastes so good and disgusting at the same time. It feels so unnatural."

4 kept his form and wandered bent over to the door. "It's open," he said. "They must've gone out."

"That creates a dent in the plan," 8 responded. "Well, we must find the girl. We have no idea where she could be. Our informant hasn't gotten that far."

"Well, we should check," 4 replied, heading stealthily out the door.

Endon and Jarred stumbled quickly through the halls. They could here their pursuers quietly mulling over the death of one of there own, but they could also here the claking of something hard against the marble floor, and Jarred could only just prevent himself from turning to slow himself further than Endon's injury had.

They had to get to Anna as quickly as possible. It was only lucky that Endon and Jarred had left wthey did. But the assasinators could easily subdue Anna while she was sleeping.

"Don't run!" someone called. "Please don't!"

Jarred turned back, and saw the halfhuman form of what appeared to be a large big-cat, similar to that of which had attacked Endon. "Your death shall be of good cause! I will make it painless!"

Jarred turned forward and started to run, almost dragging Endon. "To hell with that!" he called. He then heard the sound of something entering a body. No.

Had someone come across the path of the murderous creatures? But to Jarred's relief, he saw his grandfather sprinting toward them, with a sword glazed in a thick gray liquid. With both arms he gripped both of the twins by the waists, and continued to sprint.

Doom grimaced and began a labored scold. "What are the both of you doing out of bed? Do you know your lives could have ended had I not been here? Do you know how unsafe it is, to walk around the castle at night?"

"If we hadn't gotten out of bed we'd probably be dead," Endon commented.

"We have to get to Anna, grandpa! There are people already there! They're going to kill her!"

Doom's grimace deepend as he continued his sprint.

"She's not in this room, or the one next to it," 4 silently called. 8 retreated from the room across from the one they had entered from.

"Neither is she in this one. Perhaps she is in-"

Her eyes glinted a sharp yellow, as her transformation began into the hardened skin of a Withick Salamander her blood was mixed with, and she raised her hand just time to block a quick sword slash that came from her left. A man with gray hair had assaulted her.

"I suppose it was that room," she said, as her face elongated into the snout that then revealed serpentine teeth.

Doom grimaced as he attempted to cut past the skin and into her body. 4 leaped quickly over the floor to the door and prepared to breach it before being tackled and promptly killed by Jarred, who's knife quickly sank into the chest of the polypan.

"Damn… you…" he said, before exploding completely into gray liquid. Jarred fell to the ground, his leverage now dissapeared into the syrup-y liquid that he knew was blood. His hands started shaking. What had he done? Why… he had done it for a good reason. He had to… it didn't feel right however. He had killed someone, and the churning feeling in his gut lengthened when he realized the other one, back at the stairwell…

He was shocked back to reality, when Endon started banging upon the door. "She locked it!" he yelled. "Anna! Anna! Wake up, get out! We have to go!" Jarred quickly shook himself, and began pounding on the door with his brother.

"By now, the castle guards have dealt with your little group," Doom egged the Gren. She licked her chops, guarding his vicious sword with her scales, that were holding up, but she didn't know for how long. "You've lost and you know it."

She skittered back. "I'm not so sure," she said, pointing, a grin entering her face. When Doom turned to look, 8 lept forward, and opened her jaws.

In a split second before his face was bitten, Doom skeward the head of the creature with his sword, its body immediately slackening. "I may have died, but soon you will be too. I almost feel…" Before Doom could give a second thought, the body exploded, into the liquid he had seen when he had killed the other one.

He turned fully to see a lone figure walking down the hall, apparently female, or otherwise a very thin male. It's tunic was covered in real, red blood, and it carried no weapon. Its gait was nonchalant.

Anna's room door finally opened, and she began to yell at them, before she saw Doom with his sword, and Endon wounded, and Jarred holding a dagger.

"There's a secret passageway in your room Anna," Doom said, preparing to fight. "Pull the lamp against the wall, and you'll go down a stairwell into the chapel. Beside the coffin, there is an entrance that can be opened by pressing the base of the tomb. It will lead you to the hill side the castle is on. I want you to run as fast as you can, in any direction, away from here. Hurry go!"

Endon and Jarred entered the room. They immediately saw the single lamp hanging from the wall. They pulled on it. It loosened slightly, but remained in a firm position. No passage appeared.

1 glanced at the man set before him. No armor. No back up. Just a sword. Apparently he had killed 4 and 8 without any help, or with the children's help. That would mean he either was skilled, strategic, or both.

It mattered not. He would be dead soon enough. She stood before the man. "Where are they?" she asked in a dead tone.

"That is none of your concern," Doom said, but as soon as he did, Endon called.

"Grandpa, I think it's jammed!"

"Well pull harder then!" Doom called back.

1's expression did not change under her visor. "You will die here, sir," she said. "I respect your bravery. I will make sure your death is according."

"What death?" Doom asked, before charging forward. 1 dodged with ease, and ducked to flat palm Doom in the stomach. The wind was promptly knocked out of him, but he remained standing.

"Hm," 1 said. She raised her foot to kick his side, and he blocked it with the the sharp end of his sword, only for her foot to thicken into that of an elephants, and crash him into the wall, while breaking his sword. Her arm morphed into a tentacle, and it wrapped around Doom, to slam him into the ground several times, before tossing him a short distance away.

Doom stood again. He spit a tooth from his mouth, before engaging her again. The sword was little help as 1 continued to beat him, her already tansformed leg and other leg formed into that of 8 gigantic spider legs, granting her extreme mobility.

Doom continued to fight, still holding her back, seemingly. But 1 could have killed him. She was merely enjoying the sport of slaughter.

"You are here. How? The Belt repels all evils from Del, or at least weakenging it. Answer me. How are you not affected?"

"That is a simple question. Here is your answer." 1 wrapped the tentacle around Doom lifting her victim to her face. "We are your people."

"You lie!" Doom said, plunging the sword into 1's gut. The spatter of gray liquid… did not come. With her free hand, 1 lifted her visor.

"Does this look like a face that lies?"

Doom's eyes widened. His hands shook, and they fell away from his sword. "No… no, your dead! I watched you die. What did they do to you?"

"Well apparently I am not dead," 1 said. "We were people here, who were freed from your tyranny, and given the power of gods. It is a shame you recognize me and I, not you. I'd ask you who you are and how you know me…"

And 1's now clawed hand pierced Doom's chest. "But I honestly don't care." And she realesed him, and Doom's body fell to the floor.

Jarred watched in horror as Doom was stabbed, and saw his pleading eyes as he fell on his side. Before the color drained from them.

"Grandpa!" Jarred yelled, as the lamp finally gave way, and the passage way opened before them. At that time, 1's face appeared through the doorway, halfway morphed into the face of a disgusting insect, which screeched at them. "Go, go!" Anna yelled pushing both twins through the doorway, and following aftarwards. The stairway was dark and silent, stretching great lengths. The beast yelled angrily trying to make its way through the doorway.

Jarred felt tears well in his eyes as he ran, almost tripping over his feet. They reached a dead end, which Anna grimaced at. She felt along the wall, and Jarred heard something click. Stone grinded against stone as a doorway opened into the chapel. There, Lief was awaiting them.

"Kids!" he said, breifly embracing them. "Thank the stars…"

"We must go, know your majesty!" a palace guard said. Endon was already bent against the end of the coffin, and another click could be heard.

"Where is Doom?" Lief asked. "I sent him to find you, while I went to find any stragglers."

Jarred struggled for tears not to overcome his vision. The churning feeling in his gut had reversed. It felt like there was a gaping hole inside of him.

Lief gasped. "He's not-"

"Your Majesty, hurry!" the guard yelled, as a pasageway into the ground opened up. They all clambered inside of it, closing the doorway behind them, and began to crawl their way through the tunnel.

Jarred couldn't help it – he started to silently let the tears fall. It was too much. It was all too much. Why here? Why now?

He heard his father grunt, as he pushed a metal plate, as well as a large boulder out of the way of an exit. They all clambered away from the hole, and looked around. They were on the hillside, on the east side of the palace.

"Quickly you must-" The guard's sentence was cut short as a humongous crab like claw knocked him away, and by the way he stopped moving at once, Jarred knew he had died too. The same insect like face, was there, as well as a tentacle arm, and multiple mismatched legs. It screeched, ans Lief pulled out a sword, And escorted the kids quickly away from the monster.

"You are the king," 1 said, looking at the man with a sword before him. "Step away. You are permitted to live, for a short time at least, but your children are to die."

"Over my dead body," Lief said. He rushed forward, his sword clanging against the claw of 1, but he simply bounced back. When the tentacle whiplashed to hit him, Lief cut off a large portion – by luck alone.

1's face unmorphed, and she brought down her visor. "You are a nuisance," she said, and then spit at him, what appeared to be regular spit, but when it hit Lief's legs, it hardened quickly.

One of 1's elephant legs crushed down on both of his legs, and Lief yelled in pain.

"Dad!" Anna yelled, and Jarred glared at 1.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" He gripped both sides of his head. "THEY KEEP DYING! Why… do they keep dying! Stop making them die…"

The three children could do nothing but watch as a claw hooked up the belt from their fathers waist. Below it, both legs had no blood leakage, but the bones looked completely crushed.

The true belt of Deltora was withdrawn from the pocket belt. Immediately it started to burn the bone of the claw.

The belt fell several hundred yards from the children. Jarred yelled. This… thing was causing him so much pain. He unsheathed his knife, and ran forward, to the dispute of his father, and was promptly knocked away as far as the belt was. In fact, he landed a few feet away from it.

"Jarred!" his father yelled. "Grab the belt!" But Jarred had knocked his head, and everything was everywear. First the area in front of him was to his right, and then behind him, which made no sense. He heard his fathers pleas, but did not know what to do. On top of all that, the wind had been knocked from him, and he could hardly breath, let alone move.

It appeared to 1 that the child was dead. He was not moving, or listening. His eyes were, open that much she could tell, so he had not been knocked out. She left the king were he lay, scuttling with arachnid legs all the way into the front of the boy, but facing the belt.

 _What is that?_ Jarred thought. It was a black mass. A shadow. Was he dying. He didn't feel the pain, only the urge to vomit. He tried to recall what his father had been saying. Something about a… belt? He had plenty back at home. Home… where was he?

1's feet grew to the thickness of an elephants once more. She raised her foot, and crashed it against the belt. Over and over and over, despite the searing pain, of the belt itself. And then the pain stopped increasing. She gazed beneath her foot. The belt was destroyed.

She returned to her original form, and stared at the seven gems. Her left hand grew to the shape of a giant crab claw. She scopped the gems up, and them not being together once more, had no power against her. Her fingers of the opposite hand grew to claws. She turned to impale the child, hearing his breathing when she had come over. But he was gone. The only people there was 1, Lief, and the dead guard.

Jarred eventually did hurl. His sister had picked him up, and had run – fast. She had a surprising amount of upper body strength, and was half carrying Endon, who had lost some of his limp. They ran as fast as they could go, and heard a loud screech behind them.

The city was in shambles. All in one night, these creatures had come, and set fire to homes, killed many, and took prisinor many more. Anna didn't stop running. The palace gat had been broken open, and more dead guards were at its front. I had been almost exactly like this 41 years ago. Only this time, it was worse. Anna ran as fast as she could, through the city, and out of the palace walls.

Jarred finally regained his composure, and tried to fight off Anna's grip. "Let go! Why are we running, why are we…"

He saw the city in blazes. "We can't just leave! We have to go back! We have to help everyone!"

The palace walls were passed within seconds, and they had reached the forest. Anna didn't stop running. Jarred could no longer hear anything. "Let me go!"

"I'm not letting you go! Dad's just been incapacitated, Endon over here is injured, mom is who knows where, and grnadpa is dead!"

These words hit Jarred like stones. "But… but our kingdom is in danger! We're the only ones who can fix it! We have the belt. So long as we have it we can-"

"You didn't grab the belt Jarred. The monster. She destroyed it. She has the gems."

"Could you guys stop bickering and-" Endon's sentence was cut short when all three of themm tumbled down a pit, surrounded by trees and vines. The rolled end over end, till they reached the bottom.

Jarred had the wind knocked out of him once again, and he wheezed. When he got it back, he pushed it out, along with all the dirt and grass in his mouth.

"We escaped! We have a chance!" Endon rose to his knees. "We have to figure out how to end this, or find someone who can. I dunno. Maybe we'll fail. But I'd like to die trying instead of hiding and knowing everyone else is dying. I don't think we should stay here. We have to-"

"Endon?"

"Dondon!" A toddler came over and tackled him.

"Barry? What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here? And what happened to your leg?" Katrina stooped over to look at it.

"Thank god you guys are okay," Luke said.

"Yeah we're…" he stopped when he didn't here anymore greetings. "Where's… everybody else?"

"They're not here…" Katrina turned her head away. Jarred saw tears. "We got away. Dad told us to run. Alex gave the three of us packs, and we had to go. I don't know where anyone else is…" she bit her lip, and sucked up her tears.

"So what do we do now? Your dad has the belt right Endon?" Endon glanced at Jarred, who bent his head down. This was all his fault. If he had grabbed the belt, they might have had a remote chance… how was he going to tell them?

"It burned her," Endon said. "The monster that invaded the castle. She dropped the belt and I tried to grab it but…" he glanced at his leg. "She destroyed it. The belt. And then Anna grabbed us, and ran."

"How did she get the belt?" Luke asked before Katrina could say something.

"Wait… what is that?" Endon asked.

And then a tree collapsed very near to them, and on its trunk, was 1.

It shreiked.

"Is that the monster you were talking about?" Luke asked.

Jarred could only nod in fear. He unsheathed his dagger. Endon rose, flinched from the pain, and started quickly limping across the ditch.

"Endon, where are you going?" Anna asked. And then Jarred watched Endon grasp the handle of a humongouse golden sword among discarded armor, and lift it with ease.

Endon didn't seem to notice when it started to glow. He didn't seem to notice, as it began to reshape itself and minimize to a sword perfect for him.

And he didn't seem to notice the sheen it gave off, was exactly like that of the Topaz gem.

 **DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUH… Ominous Moment…**


	6. Chapter 4: Warrior

**Again, I apologize for the inconvenience of chapters, and I hope you will still read. I will be updating chapters once to twice a week now, except on the weeks of holidays, which I will warn you about. If I have computer trouble, I'll do my best to upload on time.**

 **Again thank you for reading, and have a happy December. Any questions, just leave in the comments.**

 **Enjoy**

 **Dragnov.**

Chapter 4: Warrior

Endon heard the blood rushing through his body, and the pounding in his skull. Everything beside him fell out of focus. His eyes locked onto 1.

Everything seemed to slow. Endon's body felt like it was moving through syrup. But so was everything else. Endon didn't register what was happening, how it was happening, or why it was happening. Only, that it was… well, happening, and a voice that was not his own urging him to examine his opponent.

1 moved forward, slowly through the air, lunging forward, with a claw outstretched toward Endon. He examined the attack carefully. The claws were black, and probably strong. The body of 1 herself was large, and bulky. Endon moved forward, slow, but almost as fast as one. He drew in a breath, waiting for the claw to come close enough to him. He waited. And waited. And finally, Endon rolled down. 1's claws changed course, heading toward him, and Endon used the sword edge to block the attack, and the sound scraping of metal on bone, and 1's agonizing screech filled the air.

Making a judgment call, he moved the blade as quickly as he could, and rammed the sword into 1's abdomen, which clanged on a hard shell. Endon bounced backwards, but so did 1. Clearly, he'd found as weak a spot as any. Suddenly, everything flashed back to normal, and Endon was moving at regular pace, and stumbling backwards, and eventually falling on his back.

The one weakness of 1's form? If she fell on her back, she could not get up. She struggled writhing on the floor, and after futile attempts to roll on her side, she began to morph to her human form.

Endon winced at the strain he had not noticed inflicted on his arms, and a cut on the side of his left shoulder. But he did not waste time. He turned to his siblings and friends. "Don't stand there, c'mon we have to go!"

Jarred seemed to snap back into character. He grabbed Barry, and hefted him into his arms. He glanced at Anna. She seemed to be frantically thinking.

He shoved her with his shoulder. "You heard him! C'mon!" Katrina and Luke glanced at Barry, and seemingly reassured, began to run into the forest out of the ditch. Endon followed, only after making sure Anna and Jarred had started there sprint. Endon ran fast, even though passing branches whipped and crashed against his skin, and the danger of roots constantly kept him jumping.

"Endon!" Luke called at him. "How did you do that? You knocked it back with one hit!"  
"Shush! 1 can still here us! We have to hide!"

Luke quieted quickly, his dash suddenly quickening. Endon almost ran straight past it but Aveen's call alerted him to it. "Guy's over here!" Jarred called. The trampling of dead leaves and the snapping of branches from trees stopped.

Hidden among the thick foliage of the trees, lay two trees crashed over one another, creating a rotting cover – a place to hide. The children quickly scampered over toward the hiding place and sat in silence.

That is until Barry spoke.

"How-"

Jarred clamped his hand over the toddlers mouth.

Barry stopped speaking. Endon watched worriedly, as Jarred carefully removed his hand from Barry's mouth. He did not speak. And Endon realized it was not because of Jarred's implication. He watched as scorpion like feet scuttled quietly into his viewpoint. The demon paused, and turned in their direction.

Endon's breath caught in his throat.

And then 1 screeched. Endon almost ran right then and there. He would have, if the sword had not stopped him. The others also almost made a break for it, but Endon blocked them with his hands.

He put one hand to his lips. What the hell was he doing? He should be running! Why was he just sitting there? But then 1's body curved, and moved on through the forest.

They waited for a moment, Endon's breath calm and collected. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Barry spoke. "How did the trees broke?"

And the trees crashed from there upheld position, bark wreckage flying everywhere, and Katrina screamed, and they all waited for death. But it didn't come.

Endon didn't know when, and didn't know how, but he was now standing, facing a humongous creature, with a bent snout, and no eyes – but a gaze burned through him. The only reason Endon had not been eaten on the spot, was the sword held to the beast's throat. Endon knew for a fact, that this neck flesh was much softer than that of 1's chest. A single swipe, and the beasts blood would be flowing everywhere.

Why were these thoughts going through his head? He didn't know what this thing was, or where it had come from. But words came from Endon's mouth, that were not his own. Not even the voice belonged to him.

"The mighty Wennbar," he said, in the voice of that of a young man, at least 25 years of age. "A beast said to come out lonely after the Wenn provide a meal. I'm surprised to see you. After all this time I'd figured you would be dead."

Endon could not control his mouth. "You will leave. You will not harm any of us, let alone eat us. Go back from which you came!"

The Wennbar remained where it was, unmoving. Endon suddenly pressed the sword into the Wennbar's throat. "Now!" The Wennbar quickly backed away, pawing at the cut in its neck. It quickly ran back into the throng of the forest.

"Ok! Now that that is settled!" Endon turned without meaning to, to face his companions. "Who are these people?"

Endon made no attempt to answer, knowing it would be futile. But then his hand knocked his head. "Hello? Anybody in there?"

Endon made to speak, and found words tumbling out of his mouth. "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY BODY?"  
Endon waited for his mouth to reply in the deep voice. But instead he laughed. "Who are you, to not know of Jodan of Del, the famed swordsman? Now, I'd tell you about me, but I'd like to know more about- aye!" He was looking down at himself without thought.

"You're a child?" Jodak's voice was horrified. "You cannot be more than five years of age!"

"What?" Endon was relieved he could finally speak. "I'm almost 13!"

"You turned twelve yesterday," Luke said.

"What… the… hell!?" Jarred was flabbergasted. Flabbergasted was the one of the words he hadn't bothered to look up the meaning of, but by the sound of it, it conveyed his emotion on point.

"What is your name?" Jodak asked.

"Endon!" he said. "And can you please explain to me what you're doing… I dunno! Here?"

"Endon?" Jodak asked, as soon as Endon finished speaking. "As in king Endon?"

"No, not king Endon," Endon said. "King Endon has been dead for a long time. I'm his grandson. Lucky me." Endon said it with no truth of enthusiasm.

"Dead! How?" Jodak asked. "How long have I been here! Why am I here! The last thing I remember, I was traveling through Jaliad seeking help when…

And then Endon felt as if he had been hit by a brick. He fell backwards. He waited for Jodak to carry his body up, but it did not happen. So he tried.

Endon rose to his feet. The sword was no longer in his hands. "What were you doing?" Katrina asked, her eyes brimmed with confusion. "Endon, I swear, if this is a joke-"

Endon held up a hand silencing her. He glanced at the sword. "I think… there's a spirit in there."

…

Barry was quick to dirty his linen clothes. They were torn, matted with dirt, and smelled like dung. As soon as he realized, he started crying.

"It's okay," Katrina kept saying, and tried to shush him. 1 could still be out there. "I can change you."

"No!" he yelled. "I want mommy to change me."

"Barry, shouldn't you be old enough to change yourself?" Jarred asked him. "I'm sure someone as big as you should be able to do it."

"No! I'm not a big kid! I'm a little kid! You're a big kid." Endon watched silently. Barry wasn't like most little kids. They always fell for the "You're a big kid now" trick. But not Barry. He was smart for his age.

"Well, do you want someone to change you, to change yourself, or to just sit there and cry?" Luke asked.

He leaned back over a log. His legs seemed to be sore, from walking. They did not seem to be walking in a direction that lead out of the forest. And it was so weird that it was so silent. Endon recalled his mother had spent most of her life here, and wondered how she could have bore it.

Aveen pecked through the dead bark, reeled back with a worm, and swallowed it whole. She did not seem bothered by the silence.

Endon ran his hand through his hair. Why? Why, why, why, why! Why did this have to happen? Especially to them? They were just… kids! Where was Jasmine, or Lief, or Barda, or Lindal, or anyone!

Endon felt like crying, just as Barry had been. But he didn't. He had been going to. He was sure. But for some reason, he didn't.

He watched his siblings and friends communicate. He in turn, took no part. He glanced at the sword, wrapped in a blanket provided by Katrina.

Its hilt glinted through the cloth. Endon remembered the sword from the stories Barda had told Marilen to record in the Deltora Annals. Something about a Jalis named Gorl. He remembered that after they were recorded, research was done on each unknown character. Gorl had taken the sword from a lowly shopkeeper who refused to sell it to him. Or so the vendor had said. He was long dead. The Topaz had been embedded into the hilt of the sword when Lief, Jasmine, and Barda had found it.

That was all Endon remembered, and he was not sure this information was correct. But as a prince, even though he had not lived in the castle, he had been forced to read the Deltora Annals. But only Jarred remembered all of that information.

Jarred was sitting beside Katrina. They were not speaking, but Katrina seemed stressed. Luke was hassling with Barry to get him changed into some fresh clothes. Anna's eyes were expression less, and her face was buried in her knees. Endon reclined on his back.

"Should we make a fire?" he asked to no one in particular.

"No," Jarred blatantly responded. "1 could still be out there. She has different DNA's from different animals. We have to assume with that DNA, she has some major tracking skills, and we can already assume she has tons of battling experience. "

"What were those things?" Luke asked quietly. "I saw one turn into… almost a dog, but I'm not sure."

"We saw nine of them," Endon said. "One of them was able to turn into… I dunno. It was a thing, with a horn."

"A rhino?" Katrina supplied.

"Yeah." Endon placed his hands on his chest. "But those things live in the Plains, right? Up north? Anyway, there was a lizard, a polypan… I think a cat, or something."

"Did they shift to different animals, like 1?" Luke asked.

"No," Jarred answered. "I think only 1 can do that."

Endon sat up. "So should we keep moving then?"

Jarred paused. "No. We have no other choice. Based on 1's trail, she's passed here, and it's not as likely that she'll come back here to check, as it is of us walking into her."

"That's pretty smart thinking," Katrina said.

"Anna, what do you think?" Endon asked. "I mean, you're the oldest, and destined queen-"

"Destined queen of what?!" she burst out, breaking the silence she had been keeping. "The rubble and charcoal back there? The people who are being attacked right now? This is the beginning of the Shadow Lord's siege and you know it. He waited for this."

"He… he what?" Jarred asked.

Anna looked at him. "Today was the ceremony. Dad removed the belt from his waist-"

"And the belt's power was temporarily weakened," Endon realized. Everyone looked at him dumbfounded, even Anna. "What? I read. I remember in the Annals, it said that even though the belt was in the correct order, and was in contact with dad, it was 10 times weaker than when he put it around his waist." Endon looked at them in turn. "Anna's right. As soon as the belt was removed, those… things, could infiltrate the castle walls, even after dad put the belt back on. And then all they had to do was wait."

Anna placed her head in her knees, and by the way she shook every few moments, she was silently sobbing. He couldn't believe his eyes. At a time like this, he would have made fun of her, for crying. But instead he stared, and thought.

"Jarred," Endon asked. "The Shadow Lord wants us dead. He's gonna come after us. What do we do?"

And Endon's stomach twisted, when all Jarred could do, was shrug.

…

Barda raced down the hallway, his sword kept at his side, and loosely dangling in his hand, was a key. His sword, and he himself was slick with the thick gray liquid, which he assumed was blood. They grey guards were not very decent fighters, but were hard to kill. These things were easy to kill, but they made up for lack of defense, in dangerousness.

These things had animal blood running through their veins. Instead of weapons, they used fangs and claws, poison and spit, speed and agility. Using dominant power over that of the human's ability put them in a fix. Get a good, clean hit however, and they died instantly.

Barda was very good at that. But they were plentiful, that was unquestionable. He turned the corner, and ran at full speed into the banquet hall. His eyes quickly scanned the room, and he charged toward the brick fireplace.

Barda hastily held up the key, and counted the bricks, starting from the bottom, 7 upwards. And then, starting from the far left, he counted right 3 bricks. Then, he took the key, and ran his finger along the line of cement between the 3rd and 4th brick. He pushed the key through the fake cement, which in reality was a keyhole. He twisted it, and was able to remove both of the bricks with ease.

Behind them, was a steel plate. In the plate were three more keyholes. Barda cursed. How long would this take?! He took the key, knowing only one key hole was correct, and that the others held, Harkine, poisonous arachnids similar to scorpions, but more deadly. He remembered the poem – forefront, behind it, first advance, second defeat. He started from the third key – forefront. He moved back 1, to the second key hole-behind it, back forward-first advance, to the third key hole, and stopped there. The last one, second defeat, had no significance. He inserted the key, and with a pop, the pipe was revealed. Its golden gleam was Deltora's second hope.

He reached out a hand, pulled the pipe toward him, and took a deep breath… and stopped. His let out the breath, but not into the pipe. As the air puffed out of his neck, and his through swelled, he could feel the claws at his neck gouge a small cut.

"Give me the pipe, Barda," the Gren said. Barda looked at him.

"I'd rather die."

"Then why did you stop?" he inquired. "You are a loyal guard Barda. Why did you stop?"

"I suppose you have something up your sleeve?"

The animal laughed. It's red and white striped fur, and thin snout contorted, as he guffawed. "It seems you know about foxes. We always have something extra in store. And if you think I'm going to kill you, just because, you're quite mistaken."

Barda recognized the voice. He knew who this person was. And he was surprised that he was not surprised. They had taken in many volunteers this year. They'd done extensive checks, but surprisingly not extensive enough.

"My Lord has ordered me to bring you to him. I'm sorry to say, you should die right now, instead of facing him, if you want to decide which death would be better," the Fox said. His claw playfully traced its way around his Adams apple, creating a cut, but not deep enough to draw blood.

"I know you wouldn't mind either way, as long as you were servicing your kingdom. But, I'm sure you'd mind if say… your _wife_ were to die."

Barda's breath caught in his throat. "Or your children? I know three of them are still here. Your other three are being hunted. They are as good as dead. You shouldn't have let them run off like that."

"Run… Off?" Barda's voice was squeaking. "I SWEAR IF YOU TOUCH THEM YOUR DEATH WILL BE UNNIMAGINABLE!"

The fox laughed once more. "That is out of my hands Barda. But still aren't we good friends? I'm sure we can work out a deal. My Lord is a very gracious Lord. He does not usually kill out of spite, and not for pleasure. Only to get the job done. You are being killed do to the first. Which is very unfortunate. And it will be unfortunate if your family has to die to complete our goal."

The veins pounded on Barda's neck. "We took you in. We helped you. Why turn on us?"

"Helped me?" The fox's voice rose from a playful growl, to an angered snarl. "You helped me? In your definition of help, if you had helped me, I would not have been born in the Shadow Lands! I would not have been left in the Forest of Silence when I was two. And I wouldn't have been made into this!"

The fox licked his chops. "But unfortunately, I am. Unfortunately for you, I should say. It's very fun once you get used to it. Now. We have a standoff. Which one. Your family? Or the pipe. I have every ability to ram my fingers in your neck right now. As long as you are not dead, it does not matter to me. Then I will have the pipe, and your family. And you will have nothing. Nothing at all. No joy. No wife. No children. No Life. Ha! That rhymes!"

He broke into a giggling fit. Barda sighed. He couldn't. He couldn't! There was no way he would betray his family for Deltora. But the people would be okay. The Shadow lord only killed… the rebellious. Barda's hands shuddered. He thrust the pipe into the fox's free hand.

The fox smirked. "Good choice Barda." He then took his hand, and clamped it over his mouth. Barda who had been tightly breathing, drew the drug in straight through his nose. The Fox stepped back as he broke into a coughing fit. He collapsed on the floor, cursing his heart for loving so much. He could have lived with his own death. But his family's? The memory of his mother's murder was already enough. Barda was ready to die, or whatever it is the Shadow Lord planned to do to him.

"Barda…" Barda's hearing was echoing, and his vision was blurry. "Sleep well." And the last thing he heard was the traitors tittering laugh.

…

Endon curled up with his back to a wooden wall. By pure chance Barry had run off in search of Lindal, and when Luke had run after him, he caught sight of a tree house over head.

With Barry on his shoulders, Endon lead the way up to the small hole in the bottom, hidden by multiple tree branches.

And even though it was cramped, they all found enough space away from the hole that allowed all of them to sleep – except Endon. He had made sure everyone was asleep before he wrapped himself in the invisibility cloak, and watched his friends and siblings around him.

Luke lay in a sprawled position at the corner of the tree house, Barry lying on his stomach, both loudly snoring. Anna sat with her face over her knees, breathing quietly.

Kat had fallen asleep on an unsuspecting Jarred's leg, both not seeming to breath.

At the very core of Endon's mind, jealousy began to spark. But he dismissed it, with his own drowsiness. The thoughts that swayed through his mind where occupying his head; the things that had happened all to quickly that could not be undone, the things they had found, and things that that they did, which could not be returned.

Endon subconsciously reached over to the wound on his left arm. The cut had brimmed with blood, and eventually flowed past the wound. The steady warmth of it bothered him. As he made to wipe it he knocked over the wrapped sword, which fell onto the floor, revealing the edge of the hilt.

The steady darkness did nothing to dim the swords shininess. It beckoned to him. Called to him even…

Without thinking, he grabbed the hilt of the sword.

And then he blacked out.

…

Endon awoke on hard cold stone. He felt rested, and his body did not ache at all. Even though Endon had awoken, his eyes had not yet opened.

When he did open them, a clear blue sky greeted him. Eventually he gained enough composure to sit up. His surroundings were so familiar, yet far from his grasp of memory, it took him several long minutes to realize he was in Del.

But that wasn't possible. When he had left it, the buildings were burning, people were screaming, and those beasts were roaming everywhere.

But now… it appeared quite… even peaceful. The only thing absent to him were people. Besides him, there was not a single person in sight. He saw several animals; ravens flying silently, several biped mammals, running through the streets, even chickens, struggling, and finally managing, to escape there coup.

Endon took all of this in, before realizing the presence of one other human being there.

He turned, and saw the figure of a man dressed in armor. The chainmail was shiny steel, and the visor was lifted up to reveal a face. It was the thick tough face of a man, with long black hair, curled around in the bounds of the helmet, and eyes lazily eyeing Endon.

"Why are you here?"

Endon immediately recognized the voice as Jodak's.

"I don't know," Endon replied honestly. "I was about to ask you."

Jodak slowly sat down onto the floor, crossing his legs. "I remember… most of my ordeal," he said slowly. "I remember dying. I also remember going inside the sword after I died. I do not remember who killed me, or even how I died, but I remember being spun around quickly afterwards. I was on my way to the city of Jaliad, to recover assistance."

Jodak quickly told Endon of the seven blades that were made in order to defend the king of Deltora.

"Seven?"

"Yes. The one here-" he drew the golden sword from a sheath at his waist. "Is the Topaz sword, made from the magical stone that centers from Del. Each blade had its own power. This one has the power to boost the senses, and enables the execution of adequate movement, which to the user appears like the slowing of time."

Endon recalled the fight against the demonic beast that was 1. What he described is "In all there are seven; The Topaz Sword, the Ruby Axe, the Opal Scythe, the Lapis Lazuli Sickle, the Emerald Arrow, the Amethyst Hatchet, and the Diamond Gladius." Endon listened hesitantly. The hairs on his neck were high. How had these powerful weapons escaped the tangle of History in Deltora so fluently? "I am not familiar with the powers of them all, but I am sure that they are as powerful, if not more powerful, as this sword."

Endon stared at him for a moment, contemplating this information.

"Now my question is… what has happened to Del?"

Endon glanced at him for a moment. He stared at the worried yet empty eyes that were looking into his. He sighed, and relayed everything that had happened since the entrance of the ghastly beasts that had been the cause of Del's fall.

For a moment, Jodak looked speechless. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide, but after a few moments, his face relaxed and his expression darkened.

"Endon, you need to find someone who can wield this blade, and find a place to reside safel-"

"No!" Endon burst out. "I've 'wielded' the blade already and I can do it again! Besides there's no one else to give it to! The entirety of Del was burned down, my dad's leg is broken, Mom is who knows where, my grandpa is dead, and the guards couldn't even hold those beasts back. There's no one left, so I have to do this!"

"I refuse! You are a child and if I let you hold this responsibility on your own, and then you die, whose fault do you think that will be?"

"Mine, obviously!" Endon burst out without a second thought.

"But then which one of us will bear more guilt when you die?" Endon did not respond to this. "And who will then be in the hands of the enemy, who apparently, have residents of Del at his command?"

"Even if that happened you could refuse them like you're refusing me now!"

"The Shadow Lord is not called the Shadow Lord just because he wanted to. The Shadow lord has very powerful witches and warlocks at his command, and is an even more Powerful Warlock himself! And even if he cannot penetrate the magic of the Sword, than he could simply keep me somewhere I cannot be found."

Jodak's voice was calm, yet final, and Endon did not know how to defy it. "Luck got me this far-"

"And I will not let you ride on that flimsy wagon for months on end. Endon, I find you very brave, but very young. I have made my decision. You could either spend valuable time foolishly trying to sway it, or find someone who can end the imminent conquer of Deltora."

…

Endon had his hand grasped around the sword when he awoke. It's shine now seemed dull, and when Endon tried to raise it, it stayed pinned to the boards, of the box he would be in, for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the sun to shine on it once again.


	7. Chapter 5: Rubrum

**Okay, okay, I lied. But I was only off by a few days! …**

 **Weeks…**

 **Months…**

 **Okay! So I'm horrible at updating on time, and this is my longest interval between posts yet! But, to be fair, there was Christmas, and New Years, and my Birthday, School, BSA testing, yada yada yada…**

 **Cutting to the chase, I apologize for making a promise, and not being able to keep it. I will** **TRY** **to post on a regular basis from now on. I hope you guys will still read, and hope you'll spread the word, that I will be a little less fashionably late!**

 **Here is the long awaited fifth chapter, and I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Rubrum

Jarred awoke to a pressure in his leg that he had not been aware existed. His eyes were refusing to stay open and it took Jarred a moment to force them to. His eyes found Katrina's head resting on his leg.

The first thing that came to his mind was something he would not say out loud, but he simply stared at her as she breathed inward and outwards.

"She's been like that all night," Endon said, causing Jarred to nearly jump and take his legs right from under Kat's head. "All of you were so… peaceful. I want to feel at peace… even for a moment, if I could savor it. You guys are so lucky…"

"Endon what's wrong?"

"What the hell do you mean 'What's wrong'!" Endon burst out. "Do you even care what's happened to everyone back home?"

Endon cast his head down. "I try not to think about it…"

"Well what's that going to do for anybody?" Endon raged at him. "Are you going to sulk inside until somebody just comes along and defeats the Shadow Lord for us?"

"No… you can't possibly think of taking him on all by yourself!" Jarred said.

"So now I'm by myself?" Endon asked, now his eyes brimming with hurt. Jarred immediately wished he could rephrase the comment he had just made, but said nothing. "Fine. You and Anna, and Kat, and… everybody else just go hide somewhere. I'll do it by myself."

He reached at his side, and wrapped his hand around the sword. He tugged it up, and leaned forward, as if expecting it to weigh more than it did. He took one last look at Jarred, and jumped through the hole in the tree house.

"Hey, where are you going!?" But Endon ignored him, slipping through it with ease. As soon as he was out of sight, he quickly shook Katrina awake.

She slowly sat up to look at him, but Jarred was already climbing down the tree, free from the taxing weight of her head.

But his efforts came to a halt. By the time he had climbed out of the tree house, he could no longer see his brother.

He poked his head back through the hole, and yelled as loud as he could –

"GET UP!"

Anna jumped so high her head hit the roof. Katrina who was already awake shrank back in surprise. However, both Barry and Luke elicited no reaction, until Katrina jabbed Luke's side, and when he jerked awake, Barry followed in suit.

"What the heck, Jarred?" Anna retorted.

"Endon's gone," he stated blandly.

Endon carelessly slashed the sword around, slicing anything he could find – branches, saplings, even the air gave a swishing sound when he didn't hit anything. But nothing he hit completely vented his anger.

This was stupid! How could his own brother, the one he did everything with, not help him with the most important task they'd ever encountered?

 _Slash!_

This had happened so many times! First to the first Endon, then to his father, and now to him. The Shadow Lord was out to get them killed.

 _Slash!_

What was his deal anyway? Why couldn't he just settle his differences and live a calm life, instead of living for- _freaking_ -ever, and constantly trying to boss people around? In retrospect, he sounded like a four year old!

 _Slash!_

"Aye!"

Endon instinctively jumped back and brandished the sword. He looked forward. He saw no one, or 1. His eyes roved through the thick foliage.

"Who said that?"

"Why don't you watch where you swing that thing instead of looking for me. Move along!

Then he saw it. It was a small creature, slick with silver, almost clear scales, with short toes that looked extremely like suction cups, a flat head, and an overbite jaw. It's eyes were on either side of its head, both seemingly trained on him.

"You're an Oration Lizard!" Endon said. Not surprisingly, Endon recalled this type of animal. They were animals that preferred watching everything else rather than being watched, and because of this, they learned to speak several thousand languages, which gave them the name Oration Lizards, or The Lizards of Formal Speech.

"Aye, yes, yes, you know me, now go away. And next time, you want some diced lizard, you should find a Caiman hole." The lizard quickly scaled up the tree before casting one last look at Endon.

Endon looked at his side.

No sheath.

He almost dropped the sword right then and there, but was afraid if he did, that he wouldn't be able to pick it up again. He then simply switched the sword into a backhand position, and held it behind him.

"Wait," Endon said. "There aren't any Caiman holes here."

He was given no response.

Louder this time he said, "I know you're up there!"

The lizard came down, and glared angrily at him. "Do you want to attract a horde of snake with all your yelling? Of course there are Caiman holes."

"But this is the Forest of Silence. Caiman's live in the swamp land. Those are like hundreds of miles from here."

"Sir," the lizard asked quizzically."How sure are you about that?"

Endon quickly looked around. His heart quickened when he realized that the only thing that was familiar was the fact that there were trees. The tall, thick trunks were now thinner, and sparser, and a pungent scent hung through the air.

It was as if the entire world had been obscured to him until this point.

 _This one has the power to boost the senses, and enables the execution of adequate movement, which to the user appears like the slowing of time._

The words rung through his head like the castle bells. It was as if, instead of helping them, the sword had been withholding the power of his senses.

Or had Endon's focus been raised, but too much on his anger venting?

The lizard crawled almost to the base of the tree. "Your helplessness is funny," the lizard said, with no trace of amusement in his voice. "You probably walked straight through End Wood, without a second thought. This is what many call the pit or Edgewise Swamp. Ever heard of it? Well let me tell you one thing; The forest of Silence is not far from here, but will take a while for you to get back to. If you can get there at all."

"Of course I can get there!" Endon countered.

"Do you even know how you got here?"

Endon's face flushed with embarrassment. He made to speak but the lizard cut him off. "You take too long to respond. Of course you don't know how you got here."

"Hey, what's your name?" Endon flashed out unexpectedly.

"Why does it matter? Once I leave you shall never see me again." The Lizard crawled backwards up the tree, and its tongue shot out, snagging a fly, and lolling for a moment before it retreated back into his mouth. "I did not ask for your name, and do not care for it. Mine is none of your concern."

"Then why are you still here?" Endon responded, sure he had verbally defeated the lizard, and left its tongue at an unsure silence.

"I repeat, I find your stupidity amusing."

"Oh, first it is my helplessness and now it's my stupidity," Endon protested.

A low guttural growl echoed behind him. A gigantic alligator like creature with a flatter snout, longer claws, and a wider jaw, leapt from behind, straight out of the mud. Endon quickly decapitated it without thinking, the body soaring past him. A second caiman leapt from beneath the ground and almost gulped the lizard down, had Endon not pierced its head with his sword, straight through to the tree. The lizard turned tail and sprinted up the tree without another word. Endon attempted to pry the sword from the skull of the dead caiman, before turning to another, even scarier sound; The crunching of another skull.

Endon almost peed himself when he saw, it was a ruby dragon, with a bleeding caiman body hanging from its jaws.

Anna flexed her hand in and out. She was gripping her bracelet, the tips digging into her skin and making her bleed. She tried very hard to focus on her pain rather than the disappearance of her brother.

Since they had been born they were always in trouble, and because of the way their sister loved them, she would always worry. As their stunts got more and more dangerous, her worrying grew more and more. But as her way of dealing with them reversed the problem, both Jarred and Endon grew more defiant, mainly Endon, who influenced Jarred into following his lead.

Anna again squeezed her hand around the bracelet once more as Jarred relayed what had happened.

"What are we going to do?" Luke inquired.

"We need to look for him obviously!" Anna burst out.

Jarred cast her a glance before saying, "Yeah, we know that, but we need to go about how to do that. The Forest of Silence is a dangerous place, and in order to find him, we might find things we're not looking for. I dunno how we're going to do that, but I'm up for any ideas."

"How are you so careful now, but so reckless all the time?" Anna said, instead of volunteering an idea. "I know how to find him. Follow me."

And in an instant, Anna jumped out of the tree house. Everyone's mouth gaped open in unison, especially when she landed neatly on the ground.

"Hurry up!" she called from below. For what seemed like forever, all four of them scrambled down the tree.

Then what at the time seemed like a smart idea to Anna, was deemed stupid by everyone afterwards.

She took a deep breath, and yelled as loud as she could- "HAS ANYONE SEEN MY BROTHER?"

Jarred immediately clamped his hand over her mouth. "Are you stupid?" Jarred whispered into her ear. "That scream will draw every Silence Spider, Flesh Python, and Orchard Keeper towards us! You've just endangered our lives!"

Anna pried his hand away from her mouth. "Shut up!" When he was silent, Anna listened intently. After approximately 6 seconds, she dashed through the trees and said back to everyone else, "Keep up!"

Luke quickly snatched Barry and placed him on his shoulders and then made a mad dash after everyone else.

Anna's sprint was unlike anything Jarred had seen before. For many years, Jarred and Endon had had races with Anna simply to prove who was faster. Every time, Jarred was victorious. But now, he couldn't even keep pace with her. The vigor of her stride could be easily seen, and the purpose of his dash only pushed him further.

They're running lead them straight out of the forest, and into a muddy swamp. The mud was not simply here or there, but literally replaced the solid ground. Jarred new that if he stepped in the wrong place he could easily fall into a sink hole.

His memory clouded over to one of the newer Deltora Annals: In which was recorded, 17 years ago, there was an immense flood that spread straight through the edges of "Ruby and Topaz territory," creating what was known as the Edgewise Swamp, a place that was filled with mud, where the plant's evolved to support themselves and not drown themselves in their new habitat, and mainly lizards grew to become Caimans.

The squelching of mud beneath his feet was sure to alert any predators in the vicinity. Instinctively, he pulled out his dagger, and held it in a backhand position.

Their dash was consistent – up until when Anna made a huge swerve, making almost all of them slip knee deep into the mud trying to follow, except for Luke, who managed to skid to a stop when coming face to face with a tree.

"Hurry up!" Anna called.

"How do you even know where you're going?" Jarred groaned as he pulled his legs out of the mud.

Barry had not been hit, but was dazed slightly. He tumbled off of Luke's back and landed softly in the mud. Luke picked him up carefully, before standing on the wet ground.

Anna paused. "I – it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" Jarred argued. "If we go on a whim and end up getting lost instead of finding Endon, we can't just pin guilt on you!"

"Well then we better hurry. According to my source, he is in trouble." Anna held out a hand to pull Katrina free of the muck.

"What source? You found out Endon was missing 10 minutes ago and we were all with you! You couldn't have-"

"I can talk to trees!" Anna burst out suddenly.

"You- you can…" Jarred couldn't get his words out. He was beginning to hyperventilate. "That's rich," he finally said, "really rich, coming from you. That's funny!"

"It's not a joke!"

"Then prove it!" Jarred yelled, prove were not on a wild goose chase!"

"Jarred," Luke started, wiping mud from his face. "I think you should-"

"Shut up!" Jarred yelled, and Luke recoiled, and fell silent.

"There's a leech."

"What?" Jarred looked at his sister.

"It's right beneath your belt, on your back," Anna said.

"What are you…" Jarred paused as he felt his belt. He stopped and yanked. To his immense surprise, a large green worm like thing dripped blood from its mouth. "How did you know? You couldn't…"

He flicked the leech from his hand, and creased his brow.

"Mom taught me, when I was little," Anna said meekly. "I don't really do it often, but I thought they might help me this time…"

"Guys," Luke interrupted. "Maybe we should just follow her, for now. I mean, Endon is in trouble. We have to find him, preferably sooner, rather than later."

Jarred looked begrudgingly at Anna. "Lead the way."

"Let me go!" Endon yelled. "I'm not food!"

"Shut it," the dragon mumbled, through the clothes in its teeth.

Endon hung several feet off the ground, hanging by his clothes in the mouth of the dragon that had killed off the caiman's that attempted to murder him. The dragon continued at a swift gait, squelching mud beneath him. It was not as big as he expected dragons to be, about twice his size, but that did not reduce his fear by much.

"Where are you taking me?" Endon asked, ignoring the dragon's order. Eyes like burning coals stared at him, annoyed.

"To mother. She'll know what to do with you."

"I um, wouldn't mind if you set me down," Endon said. His voice and demeanor calmed when he realized the dragon was not going to eat him.

…yet.

The dragon stopped entirely. "Run, you die," it said simply. It spit him out, and he rolled three feet away in the mud.

"Ugh!" he yelled. He sat up, and shook mud from his clothes and wiped it from his face. "Take it easy."

The dragon stared him down, but said nothing.

"Um…" Endon did not know what to do. "Can I… go back and get my sword?"

The dragon answered by moving forward, pushing Endon along with his snout.

Endon took this as a cue to walk. As the moved through the mud, Endon's mind wandered back to the lizard. It had scaled up the tree, but where was it now?

Wait, why did he even care? It had abandoned him when he needed help.

Well, it wasn't like he could have done anything in the first place.

"My name is Endon," he said out of the blue.

"What?" the dragon asked.

"My name is Endon, of Del," Endon repeated, turning back. "This is the part where you tell me your name."

The dragon said nothing for a moment, as if contemplating something.

"I am Rubrum, of Ruby Territory," he said. He glanced ahead. "Tree."

"Tree?" Endon looked forward – and walked face first into a tree. "Agh!"

"Your bleeding. I think."

Endon pulled his hand away from his face. "You think?" he said, staring at his hand, which was now dripping blood.

"Here," Rubrum said. "Your ignorance is endangering you. Let me carry you."

"Wait, wha – Aaaaaaghh!" Rubrum wrapped his claws beneath his arms and around his upper chest, and the other set around his waist. Holding him sideways, he beat his wings, and flew straight into the air without warning.

No matter how hard he tried, Endon could not stop yelling. He jammed his eyes shut, opened his mouth wide, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Rubrum paid him no mind, going faster than ever possible, and heading straight for the rocky coasts of Deltora.

"What is that?" Rufus asked. He bent down on one knee to pick up his ball, but was still able to see a red dot coming closer from the swampy trees miles away.

"I dunno," Lena said. "Who cares? Throw the ball back!"

"Wait," Rufus persisted he rubbed his hazel eyss to make sure he was seeing straight. "It looks like… a dragon."

"Doofus!" Lena exclaimed. "What would a dragon be doing flying from the swamp?"

"It's probably coming for your bald shiny head, Lena," Rufus said laughing.

Lena's light colored face turned red. "So what if I didn't get my paint yet?" she yelled, covering her head. "It's not noticeable from that far away!"

"Don't worry, Lena, you're still pretty," Rufus said, smiling.

She picked up a rock, and threw it at him. "Shut up!"

Rufus started laughing. "Your face is red, Lena!"

But Lena had fallen silent. "Hey, I think your right! It looks like a dragon."

The red dot had indeed grown a thin snout, and a pair of leathery looking wings. It turned at an angle, and headed straight for the mountains.

"Hey I think it's carrying someone!" Lena exclaimed.

"Pfft!" Rufus scoffed. "I can tell you a lot of crazy things about dragons, but I know for a fact dragons don't eat people."

"How do you know?" Lena protested.

"Because, ruby dragon's only eat seafood. Fish, krill, sea snakes, the occasional sea serpent, but that's all. I think. I know they don't eat people though. They don't even like to touch people, is what Pappy told me."

"I bet you believe everything Pappy says," Lena said.

"Well, I know this for a fact. They don't even like to get near people."

Rubrum dropped Endon on a cliff edge – or what appeared to be a cliff edge.

"Do you know what the meaning of gentle is!?" Endon yelled. Rubrum pressed his snout into Endon's face, and let out a low guttural growl. Endon lost any chagrin he had left. He had scratches all over his body, his tunic was ripped, and though it had shortened considerably, his nose still leaked blood.

Despite this Endon stood and took in his surroundings. He was on the edge of a cliff, but beneath him was raging sea, the air was slightly salty, and gulls cawed in the sky. He turned around to look at where Rubrum stood, only to see he had walked a couple yards off. Around him, it was pretty mountainous, but he did notice something peculiar.

He ran ahead to get a better view, and saw a huge, bowl shaped hollow in the ground, lined with dark stones. He could not see all the way in, and could not until he reached the edge.

"Mother! I have returned!"

A huge dragon looked up from her slumber, around 4 times the size of Rubrum. Even brighter, coal-like eyes glanced up at Endon, and continued to gnaw on what appeared to be the huge carcass of a sea serpent.

"Endon, this is my mother, Joyeu," Rubrum said, but Endon could only stare in awe.

 **Well there's that. On average for me, it was pretty short, but still I only started writing this about a few days ago, and I wanted to get this out as soon as possible, so there?**

 **Will Endon be eaten alive? And will Jarred and Friends follow him to their doom? And what's the deal with Rufus and Lena? Who are they, and what significance do they have to the impending journey to the clouds?**

 **Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z.**

 **Haha, I've always wanted to do that! :P**


End file.
